Novak Djokovic is the most successful men’s tennis player in the history of the sport, yet rumours surrounding his retirement continue to swirl.
After all, at 38 years of age, what he is doing is superhuman.
He has been defying biology for so many years now, and as such has hoovered up so many elite honours since entering his 30s.
However, eventually, time had to catch up with him, both in his own physical limits and in the progression of his rivals.
Now, with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner on the scene, his prospects of securing an elusive 25th Grand Slam title seem slimmer and slimmer.
Ironically, this coincides with the claims he made about his potential retirement back in 2023.
What Novak Djokovic said would make him retire back in 2023
After beating Sinner in the grand final of the end-of-year finals, coincidentally the last win he claimed over the Italian, he made a rather successful prediction: “What I said on the court for Jannik, I really mean it. Very nice guy. Great values. His family, entire team. He deserves his success. He needs to keep going because he’s definitely on the right path. I’m not the only one who is saying he can win Slams and be number 1 in the world.
“I would be very surprised if that doesn’t happen. I don’t know if it’s next year or the year to come. He’s 22. He has a lot of time ahead of him. Rune, Alcaraz and him are the ‘Big Three – next ‘Big Three’, if you want to call them. They are going to carry this sport.”
However, he then went on to make another claim about the future, one which has worryingly also come true.
He admitted: “I will hang on for as long as I feel like hanging on, as long as I’m, I think as long as I’m able to win against them on the big stage, I’ll still keep going because why stop if you’re still winning the biggest titles?
“Once they start to, yeah, kick my butt, then I will consider probably having a little break or maybe a permanent break from professional tennis.”
After his loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the US Open semi-finals, John McEnroe predicted when he thought Djokovic would retire. However, he has since confirmed his plans to continue into 2026.
Is Novak Djokovic really getting beaten badly enough to retire?
Whilst Holger Rune remains a non-factor in this particular argument, given he is yet to reach the heights expected of him, Alcaraz and Sinner have certainly assumed the dominant roles they were predicted to.
In fact, their duopoly over men’s tennis is actually remarkable, having now shared the last eight Grand Slam titles between one another.
Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, has enjoyed another timeless, sensational season, reaching the semi-finals of all four majors.
However, he was felled in three of them by one of Alcaraz and Sinner, having actually beaten the Spaniard in the Australian Open quarter-finals.
He has just one win in seven against the Italian, and was beaten comprehensively in New York just last week by the new world number one.
After the match, Djokovic even admitted about this fearsome duo: “They’re just too good.”
The 24-time Grand Slam champion is quite clearly the third-best player in the world, but is also so far behind the top two. The question is: Is that enough for him to keep going?
Only he can make that call, but as long as he remains so much better than the rest of the field, there’s no reason for him to call time on a spectacular career.
Who knows what injuries, shock defeats or loss of form Alcaraz and Sinner could suffer in the next 12 months? If that does occur, Djokovic will surely be ready to strike.
