Opinion | To Play Or Not To Play: Is It The End Of The Line For Novak Djokovic?

For those who live and breathe sport, or follow it closely, it's a microcosm of life itself. Every single emotion that a human being is capable of experiencing can be found on a football pitch, or a tennis court, or a boxing ring, or a cricket field.

Often, when a titan of sport approaches the end of her or his career, this gamut of emotions and experiences is revealed when one dissects the journey and the road travelled. As things stand right now, Novak Djokovic, a modern-day great, may be at the threshold of bringing the curtain down on what has been a phenomenal, history-making career. But he would ideally like to continue playing and being competitive.

So, why are we talking about this? Is it because the year 2024 was the first since 2017 when Djokovic didn't win a single Grand Slam title? Is it because he is 37? Is it because he has really done it all—won the most singles Slam titles ever for a male player (24) and now also an Olympic gold (which he called “the greatest success" of his career)? Is it because the next generation of men's singles players are well and truly pushing him, challenging him at every step? Is it because he doesn't have much left in the tank?

The honest answer is that it can be any one of these reasons, or all of them.

The Last Competitive Year For Djokovic?

The emotional tennis fan in us would of course want Djokovic to continue playing for as long as he truly wants. After all, this man has managed to do what at one time was absolutely unthinkable. When Pete Sampras got to 14 Grand Slam titles, the world was in awe of the achievement. Federer and Nadal bettered that tally and Djokovic has as many as ten Slam titles more than Sampras, four more than Federer and two more than Nadal, currently. Then, there are those who would want to see him wave goodbye on a high and not struggle to compete—something that we saw Rafa go through over the last year or so, which was honestly painful to watch.

So, are we heading into a year that could be the last competitive one in Novak Djokovic's career? Maybe. Many, of course, might want to take that with a pinch of salt. Retire in 2025? Really?
However, there is no doubt that the conversation now has changed from “will he announce?” to “when will he announce?”. And that, as always, rests entirely with the individual. Don't be surprised if it does happen next year.

The million-dollar question here is, can Djokovic realistically win more Slams? Remember, in 2024, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, two of the biggest flag-bearers of the new generation of men's tennis players, split the four Slams equally between the two of them. They are doing to Djokovic what he did to Federer and Nadal at one time. The aura of invincibility has no doubt been severely dented. The competition is very real and the old warrior is feeling the heat.

'Maybe I'll Change My Mind'

It's true that Djokovic had the opportunity to go out on a huge high, when he won the one accolade that was missing from his trophy cabinet: the Olympic singles gold, an achievement that saw him clinch a career Golden Slam. The most successful male tennis player of all time and the joint most successful overall (pre- and post-open era) knows that well.

Speaking to Argentine publication La Nacion, he said, “Some people think I should leave tennis on a high: ‘You won gold, you won everything, say goodbye'… Some people think I should keep going as long as I still think I can be the favourite for a Grand Slam. I think more like them.” But then he also added, “Maybe I will change my mind. I don't know.”

2023 Wasn't All That Bad

In his defence, 2023 was a very good year for him. He won three of the four Slams that year (Australian Open, French Open and US Open) and finished as the number one player in the ATP rankings—the eighth time overall that he was the year-end number one, the most for any male tennis player. That is a telling statistic. So, it's quite plausible that despite not winning a single title in 2024 (at the time of writing this article), barring the Olympic gold, Djokovic thought that he could still dig deep and find the incredible gumption that has been his biggest weapon throughout his stellar career.

Even so, he must have felt that something was off this year. He made only one Slam final this year, which was at SW19, and was well and truly humbled by Alcaraz in straight sets. He was out of the French Open in the quarters, out of the Australian Open in the semis, and couldn't go beyond the third round at the US Open. His win-loss record (as of October 29, 2024) for the year stands at 37-46.

So how is he feeling—physically and mentally?

Djokovic Can't Just Compete

In every athlete's life, there comes a time when they realise that they just can't perform at the level they would like. That is always the last straw. No athlete, especially the greats, wants to just compete.
Is Djokovic slowing down? Can he feel the end coming closer? The simple answer to that question vis-à-vis his performances at the Slams would be ‘yes'. But, having said that, one must remember that his number-one priority will be to recalibrate his game such that he can continue to compete and aim to win. Will he be able to do that?

Also, for Djokovic, winning matches and titles is an extremely emotional process, a continuous validation of sorts that he well and truly belongs at the highest level. He has had to, through his career, silence many a critic. Every success at the highest level is a reminder of just how far he has come.
There is no doubt that he is a very, very special player. And he knows it too. He couldn't garner a fan base as large and as loyal as the ones that Federer and Nadal have, but he has found a way to turn that into motivation, using that as rocket fuel to stoke the fire that burns within him. Imagine being the world number one at 37; no other male player in the history of the sport has been older while at the top of the rankings.

Picking His Battles

But Djokovic has clearly realised that the time has come to really pick and choose his tournaments, with slams as the big priority. It wasn't really a surprise to see him withdraw from the Paris Masters, where he was the defending champion.

He still hasn't made the cut for the season-ending ATP Finals at the time of writing this essay. Four of the eight slots have already been filled. Currently, Djokovic is sixth in the race, behind Taylor Fritz. Don't be too surprised if he doesn't get a ticket for Turin.

Nonetheless, he will still be hungry. Such hunger is never satiated. It all boils down to where Novak Djokovic is—physically, mentally, emotionally and psychologically. He might well be standing at the biggest crossroads of his career.

(The author is a former sports editor and primetime sports news anchor. He is currently a columnist, features writer and stage actor)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author