Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from next week’s Adelaide International, saying he isn’t ready to return to competition as he focuses his bid for an 11th Australian Open title starting just a week later.
‘To all my fans in Adelaide, unfortunately I’m not quite physically ready to compete in the Adelaide International next week,’ Djokovic posted on Instagram.
‘It’s personally very disappointing to me, as I have such great memories of winning the title there two years ago. I was really excited about returning as it truly felt like playing at home.
‘My focus is now on my preparation for the Australian Open and I look forward to arriving in Melbourne soon and seeing all the tennis fans in Australia,’ he added.
The 38-year-old Djokovic is gearing his bid for a men’s-record-extending 25th grand slam singles title at the Australian Open, with main-draw play starting on January 18.
World No.4 Djokovic has not played a tour match since he defeated Lorenzo Musetti in the final to win the Athens ATP event in early November.
Aussie fans who were hoping to see Djokovic in action at the Adelaide International have been left disappointed after he pulled out of the tournament
The Serbian legend hasn’t played in a tour match since November
He last won the Australian Open in 2023 and fell in the semi-finals in 2024 and 2025, retiring injured against Alexander Zverev last year.
The Adelaide withdrawal comes a day after Djokovic announced he would be cutting ties with the Professional Tennis Players Association, a group he co-founded.
The tennis legend put the move down to ‘ongoing concerns regarding transparency, governance, and the way my voice and image have been represented’.
His move is a devastating blow to the association, launched in 2019 by Djokovic and now-retired Canadian Vasek Pospisil.
To lose the support of their founding father even as they remain in a legal battle with the organisations that run the sport feels like the kind of blow from which it will be difficult to recover.
