Novak Djokovic occupies an interesting position in the men’s game. His achievements stand alone, but his career will always (rightly) be defined by his great rivalries with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, as well as to a lesser extent Andy Murray. But all three of his rivals have now retired and none of them particularly recently with Nadal, the last to play a shot in anger, having exited stage left at the end of 2024 and his last year on tour was more of an extended farewell than a meaningful campaign.
Stan Wawrinka, who beat Djokovic to win two of his three Majors and played out a number of other thrilling contests against the Serbian down the years, has announced that 2026 will be his last bow, and the great Gael Monfils will also hang up his racket at the close of the 2026 season. But Djokovic has made no such announcement.
There is a very real possibility that he will indeed remain on tour until beyond 2026. He may have won an Olympic Gold Medal in 2024 to add the only accolade missing from his resume, but he clearly derives particularly pride from representing his nation and is a far more significant figure in national terms than almost any other sportsperson alive given Serbia’s recent history. That context is all too often overlooked when considering both his career and his future, even if he has now moved full-time to Athens in slightly contentious circumstances.
Equally, time waits for no man, and for all that Djokovic might rage against the dying of the light, his age is clearly beginning to catch-up with him. The chance to depart the game on top has already passed with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner clearly established as the pre-eminent forces in the men’s game. The gap between them and Djokovic will surely now only continue to widen with both approaching their peak years whilst Djokovic is less than 18 months away from his 40th birthday.
His record against both in recent years makes for dispiriting reading. He did beat Alcaraz in memorable fashion at the Australian Open in January, but picked up an injury in the process and has to retire in the last four. Otherwise, he was dispatched relatively comfortably in the semifinals at the French Open and Wimbledon by Sinner and at the US Open by Alcaraz. It was a commendable effort for Djokovic to have reached the semifinals at all four Majors but not, one suspects, an achievement that he found particularly satisfying.
So where next for the great Serbian? That is a question that only he will know the answer to, but one does wonder how many more one-sided defeats at the business end of the Majors his pride can suffer. He does still have the prospect of a 25th Major to play for and whilst comparisons between him and Margaret Court are essentially meaningless, winning a 25th Major would be anything but a meaningless accolade. However, it is far from clear that he is still capable of winning a Grand Slam.
He has seemingly struggled to manage the physical demands of best-of-five-set tennis, leaving him physically diminished by the second week. He has looked half-a-step slow against Sinner and Alcaraz as a result, constantly under pressure against relentless opposition and unable to impose himself. For a player with his skillset – an immaculate timer of the ball but not necessarily a ‘big-hitter’ in the classic sense – that pressure has been suffocating.
The forthcoming Australian Open has taken on particular significance as a result. He has been a good deal more successful at Melbourne Park than anywhere else and it was not a coincidence that it is in Australia that he beat Alcaraz, unarguably his best win of the 2025 season. With the opportunity to rest, recuperate and rebuild afforded by the off-season, the Australian Open surely offers Djokovic his best chance to win another Major.
That is not to say that failing to inscribe his name on the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup again will signal the end for Djokovic. But a failure to mount a meaningful challenge for the Australian Open title might just be the beginning of the end for Djokovic.
