How long will Djokovic continue playing? Tennis icon drops big statement: 'US Open sounded bit like a goodbye'

Novak Djokovic’s quest for a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam triumph was thwarted once again in the US Open earlier this month after the Serbian tennis superstar suffered a straight sets loss against eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s singles semi-finals.

While Djokovic fulfilled his lifelong dream of winning Olympic gold at Roland Garros last year, he has not won a major since he defeated Daniil Medvedev in the final to win the 2023 US Open. And at the age of 38, with Spain's Alcaraz and Italy's Jannik Sinner dominating men's tennis in recent months, Djokovic’s chances of surpassing Margaret Court’s 24 Grand Slam titles look slimmer than ever.

German tennis legend Boris Becker, for one, feels that Djokovic is the third-best player in the circuit right now, especially with Alcaraz and Sinner facing each other in the final of the last three Grand Slams.

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Djokovic himself had admitted that it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to match Alcaraz and Sinner’s level of fitness and intensity, especially when it came to playing best-of-five sets in Grand Slams.

Djokovic the ’third strongest player on the tour’, says Becker

And for Becker, who had coached ‘Djoker’ from 2013 to 2016, that admission is a reflection of where the veteran stands at this stage of his career. Djokovic continues to captivate the tennis world by going deep into the Majors, only to bow out in the final stages thanks to the ‘Sincaraz’ hurdle or – as was the case in the Australian Open this year – fitness issues.

“Djokovic is 38 years old. But the fact that he is really the third strongest player on the tour, is very good for the Serbian, but actually bad for the rest. On the one hand, Novak also admitted for the first time after the game that it is no longer feasible for him to play against Sinner or Alcaraz. And he also doesn’t know how long his Grand Slam career will continue,” Becker, a six-time Grand Slam champion, said on the Becker Petkovic podcast.

Defending Olympic gold ‘unrealistic’ for Djokovic

Becker goes on to speculate that Djokovic could call time on his career as early as next year given his barren run in Grand Slams – the last eight of which have been won either by Alcaraz or Sinner.

“It was openly announced for the first time that maybe 2026 will be his last Grand Slam year. He said that he can still keep up with these two. That’s true. But why does he play tennis? To win Rome or Monte Carlo or Cincinnati for the 17th time or to win another 25 Grand Slam titles. I think it’s the second. And I think he has now admitted that because of his age and also the strength of the young player, he can no longer realistically achieve it.

“On the other hand, he still dreams of Olympia 28, where he wants to defend the gold medals for Serbia. That’s in three years. Personally, I find that unrealistic. But US Open already sounded a bit like a goodbye to me,” the 1989 US Open champion added.

Djokovic remains the only member of tennis’ ‘Fab Four’ – also comprising Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray – who’s still playing the game professionally. Federer, a 20-time Grand Slam champion, had brought the curtains down on his career in 2022 while 22-time Grand Slam winner Nadal and Murray had bid the sport goodbye last year.