Novak Djokovic retired from his Australian Open semi-final with Alexander Zverev due to injury.
The ten-time champion had hoped to pick up an 11th crown in Melbourne this year, but it wasn’t to be for Djokovic in 2025.
Djokovic retired against Zverev after just one set, as the injury he sustained against Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals became too much to handle.
It was the Serb’s second consecutive Australian Open semi-final defeat, having fallen at the same stage to Jannik Sinner in 2024.
Sinner and Alexander Zverev will now contest the final on Rod Laver Arena, as the Italian searches for a third Major title.
Djokovic remains on 24 Grand Slam titles and will have to wait for a record-extending 25th, as one ATP Tour legend has now predicted whether the 37-year-old will be competitive throughout 2025.
Mats Wilander thinks Novak Djokovic will be a ‘threat’ at the next three Grand Slam tournaments in 2025
Speaking after Djokovic’s retirement against Zverev on Friday, seven-time Major champion Mats Wilander gave his thoughts on what the Serb will do for the remainder of 2025.
“I think he will definitely come back and manage his schedule and probably only play ten or 11 events,” he said.
“He is playing great, so I would be very surprised if he is not going to be threatening in the other three slams and especially at Wimbledon as well.”
The Swede did, however, admit that the 37-year-old may take a while to recover from his latest injury.
“It’s worrying, especially when you are at his age because I think recovery should take a little bit longer normally the older you get.”
Former British number one Tim Henman also weighed in, suggesting that the Serb should focus on recovering in time for the big tournaments.
“In the context of what he is trying to achieve in the game, when is his next important tournament?” he said.
“You could say it’s Roland Garros.
“He needs to keep match practice to a certain extent, he would like to keep his ranking for the seedings but in terms of what he is trying to achieve he has got plenty of time to make sure his body is 100%, because it needs to be to compete at the highest level.”
Djokovic is scheduled to play in the Qatar Open, which begins on February 17, although he did mention that his participation in the tournament would depend on how his body responds to treatment.
What was Novak Djokovic’s ATP Tour schedule like in 2024?
Wilander thinks Djokovic may play ten or 11 more tournaments this year, but how would that compare to his schedule in 2024?
| Tournament number | Tournament | Month | Result |
| 1 | United Cup | December/January | QF – Loss to Alex de Minaur |
| 2 | Australian Open | January | SF – Loss to Jannik Sinner |
| 3 | Indian Wells | March | 3R – Loss to Luca Nardi |
| 4 | Monte-Carlo | April | SF – Loss to Casper Ruud |
| 5 | Rome | May | 3R – Loss to Alejandro Tabilo |
| 6 | Geneva | May | SF – Loss to Tomas Machac |
| 7 | French Open | May/June | QF – Withdrew (Scheduled to play Casper Ruud) |
| 8 | Wimbledon | July | F – Loss to Carlos Alcaraz |
| 9 | Olympics | July/August | W – Beat Carlos Alcaraz |
| 10 | US Open | August/September | 3R- Loss to Alexei Popyrin |
| 11* | Davis Cup | September | RR – Beat Ioannis Xilas |
| 12 | Shanghai | October | F – Loss to Jannik Sinner |
Excluding the one match he played in Serbia’s Davis Cup tie with Greece, Djokovic played just nine tournaments post-Australian Open in 2024.
The Serb only played one tournament below the Masters 1000 level last year, at the Geneva Open, where he lost to Czech star Tomas Machac.
Fans of the 24-time Grand Slam champion will certainly be hoping to see more of him this time around, as rumors of his inevitable retirement begin to circle.
Whether we see him at the Qatar Open next month remains to be seen, but he’ll likely return before the French Open which begins on May 25.
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