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’m not fairly bodily able to compete within the Adelaide Worldwide subsequent week,” Djokovic posted on social media. “It’s personally very disappointing to me, as I’ve such nice recollections of profitable the title there two years in the past. I used to be actually enthusiastic about returning because it actually felt like enjoying 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 remaining of the Hellenic Championship in Athens on Nov. 8, then introduced he can be pulling out of the ATP Finals for the second yr in a row, citing a shoulder damage.
“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.”
Important-draw play at Melbourne Park begins on Jan. 18.
Djokovic has gained the hard-court main that opens the Grand Slam season a document 10 occasions in all, together with most just lately in 2023.
He exited within the semifinals every of the previous two years, together with being compelled to cease enjoying 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 can be chopping 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 achieve more cash and affect for the game’s athletes.
