'I owe this sport a lot': Novak Djokovic hints at retirement plans

Novak Djokovic has revealed that while his playing days may be coming to an end, his connection to tennis will remain strong. The 37-year-old tennis legend, who has endured an injury-plagued 2024 season, acknowledged that the time to hang up his racket permanently could be drawing closer.

Despite failing to win a Grand Slam in a calendar year since 2017, Djokovic added a coveted Olympic gold medal to his impressive trophy haul this season, filling the final gap in his remarkable career. After all, with 24 Grand Slam titles to his name and a host of other records, Djokovic has very little left to prove.

Returning to the Shanghai Masters for the first time in five years, Djokovic has spoken candidly about how he plans to deal with the realities of being an ageing athlete and revealed that he is looking to scale back his commitments.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!

"Usually in my career, I used to have my schedule ready six months in advance, but nowadays that’s not the case," Djokovic said, as reported by talkSport. "Now it’s more spontaneous. Firstly, I need to physically, emotionally and mentally rest in order to even start thinking what I want to do next, in what way, how much, and where."

Djokovic also made it clear that ranking points and ATP tournaments are no longer top priorities for him.

"Torino is not my goal at all, to be honest. I am not chasing ATP Finals, I am not chasing the rankings. As far as I’m concerned, I am done with those tournaments for my career," he stated, per The Mirror.

"Whether I will play others this year or in the future, I can’t say right now. My main priorities are playing for the national team and Slams. Everything else is less important. I said a million times how much it means to play for the national team."

Despite hinting that he may not have much time in the sport at a pro level beyond this season, Djokovic said that he did still plan to stay active in the game following his retirement.

"My love for tennis will never fade away. I have a lot of emotions when I'm playing, and not particularly only in the tournament, but also practice sessions," he said, as told by talkSport.

"Even when I retire from professional tennis, I feel like I'm going to stay in tennis, stay involved in, you know, in different roles, because I feel like I owe this sport a lot for what it has been giving to me," he added.

Over the past few years, Djokovic has focused primarily on Grand Slam events, where he leads his career rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal by four and two titles, respectively. A win in Shanghai would mark his 100th career title, putting him just nine behind Jimmy Connors' all-time record of 109, with Federer second on 103.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!