24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic finally addressed the elephant in the room as he shut down all the retirement chatter, saying he plans to continue playing into his 40s. Citing LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Tom Brady, the 38-year-old said he wants to follow in their footsteps, aiming to emulate their longevity. Djokovic, who failed to win a single Grand Slam in 2025, is currently competing in the Six Kings Slam in Riyadh. He said that the major motivation for him is to extend his career and see how far he can push himself.
Djokovic has finally found some competition in the form of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, as the Serbian has failed to win a single Grand Slam since the 2023 US Open.
However, the former World No.1 wants to remain part of the evolution of tennis over the coming years.
"Longevity is one of my biggest motivations. I really want to see how far I can go. If you see across all the global sports, Lebron James he is still going strong, he is 40, Cristiano Ronaldo, Tom Brady played until he was 40-something years old, it is unbelievable,” Djokovic told Riyadh Season.
"They are inspiring me. In the next couple of years, tennis is a sport that can be greatly transformed, and I want to be part of that change. I want to be playing when we rejuvenate our sport and set the new platform that is going to go on for decades to come,” he added.
Djokovic's record
The Serbian reached the semi-finals of all four Grand Slams this year, but failed to reach the summit clash. Djokovic recently competed in the Shanghai Masters, where he eventually lost to Valentin Vacherot, who then went on to claim the title by beating his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the final.
{{/usCountry}}The Serbian reached the semi-finals of all four Grand Slams this year, but failed to reach the summit clash. Djokovic recently competed in the Shanghai Masters, where he eventually lost to Valentin Vacherot, who then went on to claim the title by beating his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the final.
{{/usCountry}}The 38-year-old has also been hampered by injuries over the past 18 months. He further lost his No.1 ranking to Jannik Sinner at the 2024 French Open.
He also dropped out of the top five after an astonishing 825 weeks at the elite level. Now, all eyes are on how the former No.1 performs next year and whether he can pose a challenge in front of Sinner and Alcaraz, who are just operating at a whole other level.