Novak Djokovic has “no thoughts of shutting things down” his career and is planning to play in 2026 and 2027, according to former doubles world No 1 and coach Mark Knowles.
The legendary Serbian celebrated his 38th birthday in May during his run to his 100th and most recent ATP singles title at the Geneva Open.
Djokovic accomplished the remarkable feat of reaching the semi-finals at all four Grand Slam tournaments this season, but he was unable to win a set in any of these matches.
He fell to Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open and Jannik Sinner at both Wimbledon and the French Open, while he was forced to retire due to a hamstring injury in his Australian Open last four clash with Alexander Zverev.
After his US Open loss to Alcaraz earlier this month, Djokovic was downbeat about his chances of beating both the Spaniard and Sinner at the majors.
“It will be very difficult for me in the future to overcome the hurdle of Sinner and Alcaraz in the best of five on the Grand Slams,” Djokovic said. “I think I have a better chance in best of three, but best of five, it’s tough.”
Speaking on the Tennis Channel Inside-In podcast, Knowles revealed what he has heard about Djokovic’s plans amid speculation over the tennis icon’s retirement.
“You know what, Novak [Djokovic] is hard to speculate on. I don’t think any mere mortal could find motivation to still play, but he does,” Knowles said.
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“Thankfully for us, we get to see him play. We want to see the all-time greats play forever. He is testing Father Time, which we all love. Nobody has defeated it ever. He is coming close. He is in a battle with it.
“From what I have heard, Novak is going to play in 2026 and 2027. From what I’m hearing, there are no thoughts of him shutting things down. So he obviously loves the challenge and still believes in himself.”
Knowles, who coached WTA star Jessica Pegula, also shared his thoughts on the schedule Djokovic may look to play.
“I think Novak has been pretty transparent with his schedule. He is severely focused on the majors and trying to get number 25,” the Bahamian added.
“Obviously, I think it’s a sponsorship element which I think is great. Novak is fortunate, and we’re fortunate. Any time we watch Novak play, we want to watch him play.
“I would not expect too much [outside the majors]. His third gear is still better than most. But I don’t think we are going to see him shift into fifth or sixth gear.”
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