Novak Djokovic was boo-ed out of the Rod Laver arena after he retired from his Australian Open semi-final match against Alexander Zverev. He retired due to aggravated pain from an upper thigh injury that he suffered during his previous match against Carlos Alcaraz. The Serb maestro has been struggling with his fitness for quite some time. In October last season, Jannik Sinner defeated Djokovic, the second-oldest player in the ATP Top 100, in straight sets, 7–6(4), 6–3 in the final of the 2024 Shanghai Masters. Following that, he withdrew from the ATP finals because of an unspecified injury in November, bringing his season to an end. Is it becoming a bit of a pattern?

Djokovic opened his 2025 season at the Brisbane International, where he suffered an early upset, losing to Reilly Opelka. But the 24-time Grand Slam winner bounced back with a strong performance at the Australian Open and in the quarterfinals, he avenged his Wimbledon 2024 loss against Alcaraz. However, the slam ended unexpectedly for Djokovic, as he had to retire after just one set against Zverev in the semis. 

Talking about his injury in the post-match press conference, Djokovic said, “I did everything I possibly could do to manage the muscle tear that I had. It was too much to handle for me at the moment.”

When asked about his miraculous physical recoveries in the past and why he failed to power through the French Open last year and the Australian Open this year, the Serb remarked, “I don’t know. It’s not like I’m worrying about approaching every grand slam now. Whether I’m gonna get injured or not. But statistics are against me in a way. I don’t know what exactly is the reason for that, maybe several different factors but I’ll keep going and I’ll keep striving to win more slams and as long as I feel that I wanna put up with all of this, I’ll be around.”

This injury marked Djokovic’s second setback at a Grand Slam in the last few months. He was set to face Casper Ruud on June 5, 2024, in the quarterfinals of the 2024 French Open but withdrew from the match due to a knee injury.

On June 6, 2024, Djokovic revealed that he underwent knee surgery to get his torn meniscus repaired. A month later, he returned to competitive tennis and played his first match at Wimbledon. He didn’t have any problem finding his rhythm as he cruised to the final, but was eventually beaten by Carlos Alcaraz in the summit clash.

And how can we forget Djokovic’s heroics in the 2021 and the 2023 Australian Open? In 2021, he played through an abdominal injury and went on to win his ninth Australian Open title, defeating Daniil Medvedev in the final. He replicated that in 2023, beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the AO final despite suffering from a hamstring injury. 

However, these comebacks only alarm Djokovic’s fans, leaving them wondering as to why he was unable to pull off a miraculous recovery this time around. Let’s have a look at what the former pros think about Djokovic’s injury.

Tennis Icons have mixed views on Djokovic’s Injury

There’s been much speculation revolving around Djokovic’s injury. During the match against Alcaraz, tennis Legend  John McEnroe remarked, “Don’t be fooled,” probably suggesting his injury was exaggerated. Andy Roddick also talked about this, in his podcast Served with Andy Roddick. “He was moving as well as I’ve seen Novak move in 18 months, maybe two years. It didn’t work that way in my career. If I pulled a groin, it kinda tended to stay pulled and maybe get worse,” the former US Open champion said.

In his post-match comments, Djokovic’s quarterfinal opponent Carlos Alcaraz shared his views as well, stating, “I’m not saying he put on a show, but in the second set he looked in trouble, and in the third and fourth I didn’t see anything. I think everybody saw in the second set he was struggling a little bit (with) moving.” 

This isn’t the first time the renowned tennis figures have questioned the nature of Djokovic’s injury-related time-outs. John Alexander, a former Australian pro, who competed from 1967 to 1985, hinted that Novak Djokovic tended to use medical timeouts as a tactic to disrupt his opponents’ rhythm. 

The former world No. 8 made these comments after Djokovic took a medical timeout for a wrist injury during his victory over Jiri Lehecka at the 2024 United Cup. “One aspect that raises doubts about his greatness is the way, in many people’s eyes, he has strategically used injury timeouts throughout his career,” Alexander said on the ABC Tennis Podcast.

The nature and frequency of Djokovic’s injuries are alarming for his fans and critics alike. Do you think Djokovic can go through this season without any more hiccups? Share your thoughts in the comments below.