On Novak Djokovic’s Retirement, His Father Drops ‘Hopefully Next Year’ Wish

Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic’s father, Srdjan Djokovic, said he hopes his son retires from the sport after the end of the 2024 season, adding its time for him to enjoy the next chapter of his life. The 36-year-old, holds the record for the most grand slams won among men (23), recently lost the Wimbledon final to world no. 1 Carlos Alcaraz. The Serb, who will turn 37 next year in May, was chasing a record 24th Grand Slam title, which would’ve levelled him with Margaret Court for the most Grand Slam titles won by one player.

“As far as my wishes for him go, he has already fulfilled them all seven-eight years ago. The rest is this amazing bonus,” Tennis Majors quoted Srdjan as saying on Sportal’s documentary titled ‘Novak Djokovic – Untold Stories’.

“And for Novak to slowly but surely… It’s not the end, but in a year-and-a-half let’s say… My wish as a father – I think for some time that he should have stopped working this extremely difficult job. It’s physically and mentally challenging and very demanding – with him being fully dedicated for 30 years, and not taking his foot off the gas, there is not much time for other things in life,” he added.

However, Srdjan feels playing tennis isn’t the only phase of his career, and it’s now time for the rising crop of players to grab the centre stage.

“Tennis is only one segment of his life, not his whole life, I expect him to be recognized for the things he will do after his career ends as well, after he leaves the tennis world, which I hope it will happen next year,” Djokovic senior added.

His mother, Dijana, however, said that Novak will play for another year or two, but at the end of the day, it will be his choice whether to continue or not after that.

“It’s all up to him. As far as I’m concerned, he can retire right now – he has won everything.”