Novak Djokovic to Feature in ‘this’ Warm-Up Tournament Ahead of the 2026 Australian Open

Novak Djokovic will play at the Adelaide International ahead of the 2026 Australian Open.

Novak Djokovic to Feature in ‘this’ Warm-Up Tournament Ahead of the 2026 Australian Open

Novak Djokovic

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Novak Djokovic is set to mark his return to the Adelaide International, which will serve as a warm-up tournament ahead of the Australian Open. The Serbian legend will compete in the ATP 250 tournament, which begins on January 12 and ends on the 17th, just one day before the first Grand Slam in Melbourne.

For several years, Djokovic has not appeared on a preliminary list for the events preceding the Australian Open. It was in 2023 that he first participated in a tour-level event in Adelaide. The following year, he featured at the United Cup under the Serbian team. Last year, he continued with the tradition by featuring at the Brisbane International and reached the quarter-finals, beating Rinky Hijikata and Gael Monfils.

It was in the last eight of the tournament that he fell to American Reilly Opelka. That appearance in Brisbane served as a preparatory tournament ahead of the Australian Open, where he got to the semi-finals before retiring due to an injury. However, in Brisbane, Djokovic also featured in the doubles category, teaming up with Nick Kyrgios.

Kyrgios was returning to the tour after a year and a half injured. Djokovic and Kyrgios won their opening match before falling to top seeds Nikola Mektic and Michael Venus. Nonetheless, Djokovic will be hoping to use the Adelaide International to get to his best level on the court, with the Australian Open in mind.

The last time he competed in Adelaide was in 2023, over two years ago, beating Sebastian Korda in the semi-finals before triumphing over Daniil Medvedev to win the title for the second time in his career. He triumphed at the South-Australian City for the first time in 2007, just three years after turning professional.

Djokovic will compete alongside top players such as Joao Fonseca, Tommy Paul, Jack Draper, and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Draper will be returning from injury at the tournament, having missed almost half of the 2025 season due to injury. He was diagnosed with bone bruising after the Wimbledon Championships.

The British No.1 was meant to kick off his pre-season preparation at the UTS Grand Final in London, but he withdrew from the tournament a few days before its commencement. Besides that, Fonseca will be looking forward to facing Djokovic on the court in Adelaide. The Brazilian teenager enjoyed his breakthrough on tour in 2025 and will be hoping to solidify his place in the top 30 next year.

ATP introduces a new rule ahead of 2026 season to protect players during heat

The ATP has announced that it will introduce a new extreme heat rule from the start of the 2026 season, which will allow men’s players on tour to take a 10-minute cooling break during best-of-three sets singles matches. The rule is similar to what the WTA implemented to protect women’s players in the heat.

Novak Djokovic (2)
Novak Djokovic (Image via X/Danny)

The ATP plans to implement this rule based on the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT), which measures heat with sunlight. It observes temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle, and cloud cover. If the WBGT reaches 30.1 °C or higher during the first two sets of a best-of-three match, either player can request a 10-minute cooling break.

Should the WBGT exceed 32.2°C, the match will be suspended and played under better conditions. This rule comes after several players complained about the humid conditions at the Rolex Shanghai Masters in October. At the tournament, the temperatures were as high as 34 °C and the humidity at 80% in the daytime.

Players struggled to be at their best on the court. In fact, World No.15 Holger Rune asked an official during his third-round match whether they wanted players to die under the conditions. Novak Djokovic complained heavily about the fact that, despite the tournament organizers making sure most matches were played at night, the humidity was too much.

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