Djokovic could be out for 'couple months' after 'pretty deep tear' in hamstring: Report

While controversy surrounds Novak Djokovic’s retirement from the Australian Open 2025 semi-finals, it has emerged that the star tennis player could be out of action for a “couple of months” month due to a “pretty deep tear” in the “deepest part” of his hamstring.

Djokovic suffered the left thigh injury during his four-set quarter-final win over Carlos Alcaraz . He was forced to take a medical timeout in the match during the first set, which he lost, before bouncing back to win the match. During the last-eight encounter, US legend John McEnroe cast doubts on Djokovic's fitness concerns .

The 24-time Grand Slam winner, however, was forced to miss training both days before the Australian Open 2025 semi-finals and withdrew during the match against Alexander Zverev after losing the first set. But the Serbian’s withdrawal became a major controversy as he was jeered by the fans and experts questioned the extent of the injury.

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Novak could be out for ‘couple of months’

Djokovic hit back at the sports injury experts by sharing the MRI scan that showed a tear in his left hamstring.

Thought I’d leave this here for all the sports injury “experts” out there. pic.twitter.com/ZO5mBtw9zB

— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) January 25, 2025

He, however, did not provide any assessment of how long it would take for him to be back on the court. But ESPN analyst Chris Fowler while speaking to Tennis365 has revealed the details of the injury and shared that the 37-year-old could be out for a while.

“That’s no joke, that’s a pretty deep tear,” Fowler said. “That’s in the deepest part of the hamstring and the hamstring is a problem because it’s a big muscle. It’s deep in there, it’s hard to treat it properly. The hamstring doesn’t have great blood flow so it’s harder to treat it than some other muscles.

“You can’t rush a hamstring, you’ve got to be very sure before going back out there. Typically if you’re looking at injuries like that in sports, you’re looking at a couple months.”

Djokovic to target French Open 2025

That will still give Djokovic enough time to prepare for the French Open that starts on 25 May as the Serbian is looking to win a record 25th major.

Another report said that Djokovic could make his comeback at the Indian Wells in March.

He last won a Grand Slam at the US Open 2023 and is currently with Margaret Court for the record of most major titles.