Novak Djokovic predicted to skip major ATP tournament for the second year in a row

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As Novak Djokovic nears the end of his career, he continues to play a reduced ATP Tour schedule.

The Serbian star was last seen in action at Wimbledon when Djokovic lost to Jannik Sinner in the semifinals.

Djokovic then announced his withdrawal from the Canadian Open, choosing to rest up before making his debut on North American hard courts.

Extending his ‘break’, Djokovic chose to skip the Cincinnati Open as well, meaning his next tournament will be the US Open.

Looking ahead to the remainder of the 2025 season, Djokovic has only been confirmed for two events, the US Open and the Six Kings Slam.

Many expect him to appear at another ATP tournament to finish off the year, although one popular tennis pundit isn’t so sure.

Novak Djokovic predicted to skip the ATP Finals for the second year running

During the latest episode of ‘Tennismania’, popular Italian pundit Guido Monaco predicted the lineup for the 2025 ATP Finals.

“I think six spots are filled according to the rankings,” he said.

“We’ll see if [Novak] Djokovic goes, but I don’t think so.”

For the first time since 2017 (didn’t qualify), Djokovic chose not to play the ATP Finals in 2024, despite qualifying for the event.

Choosing to take an extended break ahead of his 2025 campaign, Djokovic finished up his 2024 season in Saudi Arabia, at the inaugural Six Kings Slam.

Monaco thinks he’ll miss the tour finals again this time around, offering up opportunities for other players to qualify in his place.

“Everyone up to [Taylor] Fritz will be there. Then we’ll see [Jack] Draper, [Alex] De Minaur, and [Lorenzo] Musetti. They’ll be fighting for two spots,” he said.

“In any case, I think everyone up to [Holger] Rune is in contention. Musetti, for his part, has to make a response.

The top eight players in the ‘ATP Race to Turin’ qualify for the year-end finals, as competition for those last few spots is already heating up.

Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are the only two players to have already qualified for the event, but the likes of Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton, and Novak Djokovic are expected to follow suit.

If Djokovic were to withdraw from the event, it would open up a spot for the ninth-placed finisher in the ‘ATP Race’ to qualify for the ATP Finals.

Who that may be remains to be seen, although we shouldn’t be counting out a Djokovic appearance in Turin quite yet.

The 38-year-old is the most successful player in the event’s history, and would no doubt be a strong contender to lift the title, should he make the trip to Italy in November.

Novak Djokovic’s ATP Finals record

Making his ATP Finals debut in 2007, Djokovic won his first title a year later, defeating Nikolay Davydenko in the final to lift the trophy in Shanghai.

Over the next 15 years, Djokovic won six more titles, taking his ATP Finals tally to seven, the most of any player in tournament history.

• 2008 ATP Finals – Novak Djokovic beat Nikolay Davydenko in F (Shanghai)
• 2012 ATP Finals – Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer in F (London)
• 2013 ATP Finals – Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal in F (London)
• 2014 ATP Finals – Novak Djokovic won via walkover (London)
• 2015 ATP Finals – Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer in F (London)
• 2022 ATP Finals – Novak Djokovic beat Casper Ruud in F (Turin)
• 2023 ATP Finals – Novak Djokovic beat Jannik Sinner in F (Turin)

Djokovic won his last title in 2023, when he defeated Sinner 6-3, 6-3 in the final.

It remains to be seen if Djokovic will return in search of an eighth title in 2025, but it will certainly be something to look out for.

The 2025 ATP Finals are scheduled to begin on Sunday, November 9.