Novak Djokovic Opens Up on the Possible End of His Two-Decade-Long Career

Novak Djokovic has finally come to terms with the fact that his career is drawing close to an end. The 39-year-old has been competing on tour for the past two decades, having turned professional at the age of 15 in 2003. Djokovic has only played in five tournaments this season, and he’s unlikely to compete in ten events.

Djokovic distinguished himself by winning titles and breaking records on tour. After turning pro, it took five years for him to win his first Grand Slam on tour. He claimed his maiden major at the Australian Open in 2008 and then claimed his second Slam at the same tournament in 2011 after beating Andy Murray in straight sets.

In September 2015, Djokovic won his 15th Slam at the US Open after overcoming Roger Federer in the final. The Serbian legend then won nine Grand Slams from 2016 to 2023, taking his tally to 24 majors. He has since been in search of his 25th major title on tour, which will make him the first player in the Open Era to reach that tally.

However, Djokovic has impressed on the court, but he’s nowhere close to the level of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Sinner and Alcaraz emerged as dominant forces in the men’s circuit in 2024 and have shared ten of the last eleven Grand Slam titles. Djokovic has lost to either of them in a Grand Slam tournament eight times since winning the 2023 US Open.

Also, Djokovic has passed his prime on the court, and he’s not at his best physical level due to his age. He complained after his loss to Sinner at Wimbledon that he couldn’t give his best performance on the court after beating Felix Auger-Aliassime in over five hours in the quarter-finals. In an interview revealed on Puntodebreak, Djokovic admitted that he’s approaching the end of his career:

I still feel I can compete at the highest level, and the results prove it. I can still stay somewhat active from time to time, but yes, the moment is approaching. There’s a category of athletes who want to retire at their peak, another category of athletes who want to retire because their bodies can’t keep up, and another category of athletes who are simply beaten by others and realize they can’t continue. Or, it’s all of that.

Djokovic won just two titles last season, both of which came at ATP 250 tournaments. He reached the final of an ATP 1000 event for the last since January 2025 and suffered an astonishing loss against Valentin Vacherot in the semi-finals of the Rolex Shanghai Masters last October, despite being the favorite to win the title.

Novak Djokovic says retirement will come quickly for him

Several top players have found it hard to retire from tennis because of the love they have for the sport. They fight hard to train and prepare, but come to terms with their body on the court after a devastating defeat. Rafael Nadal retired in 2024 despite putting up a fight to compete; Roger Federer had to hang up his racket in 2022.

This season, Gael Monfils and Stan Wawrinka are set to finally retire towards the end of the season and have been bidding farewell in each tournament they feature in. Novak Djokovic revealed during the aforementioned interview that Andre Agassi has told him that retirement comes quickly when a player gets old:

Honestly, I find it amazing to listen to the great figures of all time and how they dealt with this process of, in a way, letting go. Andre Agassi is one of the all-time greats, of course. He participated in my documentary and said: ‘I don’t know when the end will come for Novak, but I’m sure that when it comes, it will come quickly.’

Djokovic is on the entry list of the US Open. He will not feature at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati, as he opts to focus his attention on playing in the New York Grand Slam event. He has also been busy for the past two weeks with media engagements for his documentary release.

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