Doubts are surrounding Novak Djokovic’s fitness heading into this year’s Australian Open after the 10-time champ reportedly had trouble with his neck in a practice session. Djokovic has not taken part in any of the lead-up tournaments to the Australian Open with the 38-year-old working his own way into the grand slam.
Djokovic withdrew from the Adelaide International after admitting he’s “not quite physically ready to compete”. And there are concerns surrounding the champion following a practise set against Daniil Medvedev this week.
Novak Djokovic (pictured) reportedly cut a practice session short at the Australian Open after the 10-time champ appeared to have trouble with his neck. (Images: Getty Images)
Djokovic was working on his serve in a following session and his neck appeared to be causing him trouble. His session was cut short after just 12 minutes, according to The Tennis Channel and other reports. While this could be seen as a worry, Djokovic is a master at preparing for big tournaments.
The 38-year-old still has five days before he takes to the court for the first round and has plenty of time to ramp up his preparation. The 10-time Australian Open champion will be looking to overcome his woes against Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in 2026 having struggled against the younger opponents across five sets.
Novak Djokovic seeking one last Aus Open push
Djokovic made the semi-final of each grand slam last year. But he lost in straight sets to Sinner at both the French Open and Wimbledon. He also lost to Alcaraz at the US Open in straight sets. He retired injured in the semi-final of the 2025 Australian Open.
Last year, Djokovic admitted fatigue played a role later in the tournament as he struggled to produce his best tennis in the second week of a grand slam. “I lost three out of four Slams in semis against these guys, so they’re just too good, playing on a really high level,” Djokovic said after his US Open loss to Alcaraz.
“Unfortunately, I ran out of gas after the second set. I think I had enough energy to battle him and to keep up with his rhythm for two sets. After that I was gassed out, and he kept going. That’s kind of what I felt this year also with Jannik. Yeah, best-of-five makes it very, very difficult for me to play them, particularly if it’s the end stages of the Grand Slam.”
Novak Djokovic’s insane Aus Open record
Many are speculating to whether this could be Djokovic’s last year at the Australian Open considering he is in the twilight of his career. This year the 38-year-old will head into the grand slam without any traditional tune-up matches under his belt.
Djokovic is the undisputed king of Melbourne Park after winning 10 of his 24 majors at the venue, but has been defeated at the semi-final stage on his past two visits. The tennis legend has scaled back his competitive tennis in recent years to try and remain as fresh as possible for the grand slams, but said he wanted to play in Adelaide before confirming his withdrawal to fans.
Novak Djokovic (pictured) training on Rod Laver Arena.