Novak Djokovic was asked when he planned to retire from tennis back in 2019 – here is what he said back then

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Novak Djokovic is showing no signs of slowing down, despite the 37-year-old being heavily impacted by injury in the latter stages of his career.

Rennae Stubbs is concerned about Djokovic’s fitness, with the Serbian enduring another stop-start season.

The Serbian underwent knee surgery in 2024, but remarkably recovered to reach the Wimbledon final and win Olympic gold in Paris.

Djokovic plans to play Indian Wells and the Miami Open this month, having last played at the Qatar Open last month.

He suffered a round of 32 loss to Matteo Berrettini in singles, and reached the quarter-finals in doubles with Fernando Verdasco.

Novak Djokovic wasn’t thinking about retirement in 2019

Djokovic remains the last man standing of the Big Three, with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal retiring in 2022 and 2024 respectively.

He was asked the question of when he will retire back in August 2019, when Djokovic told WIRED: “I don’t know that.

READ MORE: Who is Novak Djokovic? Step inside the life of the 24-time Grand Slam champion

“I am not thinking about retirement at the moment. I do have a family, of course, and things are evolving in my life so to say.

“Obviously I am 32, which by many standards or the history of tennis players retiring, I am coming closer to the end. But I still love playing, I still love competing and as long as it is like that I will keep going.”

What titles has Novak Djokovic won since 2019 retirement claim?

Djokovic was in the middle of another phenomenal season at the time of the question, having won the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

He lifted the ATP Masters 1000 Madrid trophy in between those Grand Slam successes, before winning at the Japan Open and the ATP Masters 1000 Paris.

READ MORE: Novak Djokovic praised by tennis fans for what he did at the net immediately after losing to Matteo Berrettini at the Qatar Open

And the stunning success really hasn’t stopped since then, with Djokovic winning three Australian Open titles, two French Open titles, two Wimbledon titles and one US Open title.

Four Grand Slam final losses meanwhile went his way, but he still managed to soar to the top of the all-time men’s titles leaderboard.

Olympic gold medalist Djokovic has also completed the Golden Slam since 2019, with a 100th ATP Tour title now likely among his current list of priorities.