Novak Djokovic, the tennis legend, confessed that the former number 1 tennis player will be facing challenges to compete with the number 1 and number 2 Alcaraz and Sinner. Plagued by injuries, the 24th-time grand slam winner has a disappointing 2025 season.
According to the former world No. 1 doubles player, Rennae Stubbs, the Serbian superstar can hang up his tennis rackets after the 2026 Australian Open.
However, since winning the US Open in 2023, Djokovic has not won a Grand Slam. Even though he reached the semi-finals in all four major tournaments this year, his luck hasn’t been great. He had to retire due to a muscle injury against Alexander Zverev in Australia, and then lost in straight sets to Jannik Sinner at both the French Open and Wimbledon, as well as to Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open.
Stubbs believes Djokovic, who is 39 right now, may choose to retire after the Australian Open in January. He has won an open record of eleven titles there.
"I believe the Australian Open will be his last major tournament to play," she told GB News. "I don't believe he wants to continue playing after that and has to go through the French Open.
"He is so good on every surface, but I can't imagine him winning these guys in five sets on clay and then going to Wimbledon again. "I feel like the Australian Open would be a great way to finish his career. It's where his Grand Slam titles started," she added.
Novak Djokovic is currently battling for his record-breaking next title at the Shanghai Masters. If he wins, it will be his fifth. After defeating Croatia's Marin Cilic in his first match, he posted a snap of his victory on Instagram with a caption, "It's good to be back."
The Olympic gold medal champion stated during a pre-tournament press conference: "I'm putting in a lot of effort because I still want to compete against Carlos and Jannik in Grand Slams. If you're not completely physically against them, your entire game suffers."
"I understand it will be difficult to beat them in best-of-five sets because I am not as fresh as they are for our matches. It's a fact I must accept. I believe the Masters 1000s are where I have the best chance of earning a major title.”
He also added that, “aside from the losses to them, I think I've played good tennis and reaching the semi-finals of every Grand Slam gives an idea of the consistency of my tennis. In any case, I'm a very winning person and I've experienced the most in this sport, so I want more."
On Sunday, around 11:30 a.m.(UK time), The Serbian legend will meet Yannick Hanfmann of Germany.
