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Novak Djokovic responds to retirement buzz ahead of Australian Open return, sends bold message to Carlos Alcaraz, Sinner
Novak Djokovic will be making his 21st appearance at Melbourne Park, and opened up on his retirement plans in the pre-tournament press conference
Novak Djokovic will open his 2026 Australian Open campaign on Monday against Pedro Martinez. The Serbian last won a major title at the 2023 US Open. Since then, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have split the eight. Despite injury issues, Djokovic reached the semifinals of all four Grand Slams last year. A hamstring injury forced him to quit his 2025 Australian Open semifinal after he beat Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.
He will also be making his 21st appearance at Melbourne Park, and opened up on his retirement plans in the pre-tournament press conference. "I'm still living my dream to be honest. It's passion and love for the game. It's the interaction with people. It's the energy that you feel when you walk out on the court. That adrenaline rush, it's almost like a drug. I think that a lot of the top athletes from different sports can relate to that. I have been at least hearing them speak about that. It's so addictive, you know, the feeling of competing," he said.
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"When that arrives and kind of becomes ripe in my head, I'll share it with you, and then we can all discuss on the farewell tour," he added.
Djokovic lost to Sinner in the semifinals of Roland Garros and Wimbledon last year. Meanwhile, he fell to Alcaraz at the US Open semifinals. After his defeat in New York, he revealed that it was doubtful if he could still challenge Alcaraz or Sinner.
But he has changed his viewpoint since then. "I know that when I'm healthy, when I'm able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together on a given day, I feel like I can beat anybody. If I don't have that self-belief and confidence in myself, I wouldn't be sitting here and talking to you guys or competing," he said.
"I understand that Sinner and Alcaraz are playing on a different level right now… but that doesn't mean that nobody else has a chance. So I like my chances always, in any tournament, particularly here."
