Novak Djokovic withdrew from the Australian Open tuneup event in Adelaide, saying Monday that he is not ready to return to competitors forward of the yr’s first Grand Slam occasion.
“To all my followers in Adelaide, sadly I am not fairly bodily able to compete within the Adelaide Worldwide subsequent week,” Djokovic posted on social media. “It is personally very disappointing to me, as I’ve such nice recollections of successful the title there two years in the past. I used to be actually enthusiastic about returning because it actually felt like taking part in at dwelling.”
Djokovic, a 38-year-old with a males’s-record 24 main singles championships, has not performed an official match in almost two full months. He defeated Lorenzo Musetti within the last of the Hellenic Championship in Athens on Nov. 8, then introduced he could be pulling out of the ATP Finals for the second yr in a row, citing a shoulder harm.
“My focus is now on my preparation for the Australian Open,” Djokovic wrote Monday, “and I look ahead to arriving in Melbourne quickly and seeing all of the tennis followers in Australia.”
Predominant-draw play at Melbourne Park begins on Jan. 18.
Djokovic has received the hard-court main that opens the Grand Slam season a file 10 instances in all, together with most not too long ago in 2023.
He exited within the semifinals every of the previous two years, together with being compelled to cease taking part in after one set in opposition to Alexander Zverev in that spherical in 2025 due to a torn hamstring muscle.
Djokovic reached the semifinals in any respect 4 majors final season.
He begins this season ranked No. 4, trailing solely Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Zverev.
The Adelaide withdrawal comes a day after Djokovic introduced he could be reducing ties with the Skilled Tennis Gamers Affiliation, a bunch he co-founded that sued the game’s governing our bodies final yr in a bid to realize extra money and affect for the game’s athletes.
