Patrick Mouratoglou Explains ‘Biggest Trap’ in Tennis That Leads to ‘Burnout’ After Novak Djokovic’s Honest Admission

World No.4 Novak Djokovic ended the season with two ATP 250 titles, which he won in Geneva and Athens.

Patrick Mouratoglou Explains ‘Biggest Trap’ in Tennis That Leads to ‘Burnout’ After Novak Djokovic’s Honest Admission

Novak Djokovic and Patrick Mouratoglou (via Tennis365,X/The Tennis Letter)

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The body was sending Novak Djokovic signals that something was wrong, that he needed to address his fitness issues first. But instead of being concerned about his problems, he kept playing.

This was what Djokovic admitted during his recent interview with Piers Morgan. Patrick Mouratoglou thinks the tennis system needs to be blamed, accusing it of forcing the players to continue through injuries, saying even Djokovic, one of the greatest athletes in the world, is prone to burnout.

He talks about masking pain, pushing through injuries, taking painkillers, and continuing because “everyone else is still playing.” This is one of the biggest traps in tennis. The tour never stops. When you rest, others keep gaining points. So players push, ignore the signals, and enter a vicious cycle where the injury gets worse, sometimes dramatically worse. Mentally, most players feel they can’t afford to listen to their bodies. But the truth is: you can’t afford not to.

Patrick Mouratoglou wrote on LinkedIn

During that interview with Morgan, Djokovic also talked about how, after completing the Career Grand Slam by winning the 2016 Roland Garros, he was advised to take some time off. But he thought a break was not at all needed, as he never thought of experiencing burnout or emptiness. Following the Roland Garros win, the Serb lost to Sam Querrey in the third round of Wimbledon.

Novak describes the moment after winning four Grand Slams in a row. He had achieved everything… and suddenly felt empty. This happens to all the huge champions at some point. When the next goal doesn’t feel big enough, motivation drops, performance drops, and they need to reset.

Patrick Mouratoglou added

Djokovic eventually succumbed to elbow injury in 2017 and thought it would heal on its own. But as it did not, he underwent surgery the following year.

Boris Becker on Novak Djokovic’s retirement

Novak Djokovic has made it clear that he doesn’t want to retire in the near future. His dream is to hang up his racket at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. His former coach, Boris Becker, urged the media to stop discussing the potential retirement of the 24-time Grand Slam champion, saying tennis still needs Nole.

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic (Image via X/AllAboutHQ)

Who are we to challenge Novak on when to stop? I heard the other day that he wants to play at the Olympics in LA 2028. Let him. We need him. Whoever was playing against Novak Djokovic lost a lot of money for the last 20 years. So I’d never bet against Novak.

Boris Becker told The Guardian

This year in the Majors, Djokovic reached every semifinal. An injury forced him to give the walkover to Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open. He succumbed to a straight-set defeat at the hands of Jannik Sinner at the French Open and Wimbledon, while at the US Open, Alcaraz knocked him out in straight sets.

This season, the 38-year-old took home two ATP 250 titles. He defeated Hubert Hurkacz at the Geneva Open and ended his season by lifting the Hellenic Championship against Lorenzo Musetti. Apart from these titles, he also reached the Miami Open final, losing the match to Jakub Mensik. Due to a lingering shoulder injury, Djokovic skipped the ATP Finals, where he lifted a record seven titles.

The last Big Title that Djokovic lifted was the 2024 Paris Olympics by defeating Carlos Alcaraz. The last time he played a Grand Slam final was at the 2024 Wimbledon, which he lost to a six-time Major champion. The 2023 US Open was the last Major that Djokovic won. Djokovic ended the season as a No.4 player with a 39-11 win-loss record.

Also read: Maria Sharapova Makes Feelings Known About On-court Coaching by Citing Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz’s Example