COMMENT: Novak Djokovic has once again dropped a hint that retirement from tennis may be close.

Novak Djokovic has addressed his retirement plans ahead of the Shanghai Masters (Image: Getty)

Make the most of Novak Djokovic’s remaining appearances in his playing career. Because the Serbian superstar, who will turn 38 in May, is dropping hints every week that his time competing at the top of the sport will soon come to an end and he is already thinking about his future in tennis.

When the 24-time Grand Slam winner finally won Olympic gold this summer, a lifetime ambition was fulfilled.

After beating Carlos Alcaraz in a brilliant final and dropping to the court in tears, the emotional Djokovic said: “This kind of supersedes everything that I imagined, that I hoped that I could experience and that I could feel,” he said.

“Being on that court with Serbian flag raising and singing Serban anthem and carrying gold around my neck is just, I think nothing can beat that in terms of professional sport.”

The 2010 Davis Cup winner is still seeking a 100th ATP Tour title and a 25th Grand Slam title which would break the record he has shared with Margaret Court since last year’s US Open.

But the world No.4 is no longer obsessed with his tennis and records – and his schedule is beginning to look like a farewell tour before he follows Roger Federer, Andy Murray and soon Rafa Nadal into retirement.

Novak Djokovic is beginning to drop hints over retirement on a regular basis (Image: Getty)

Before playing his friend Grigor Dimitrov in an exhibition match in Sofia last month, he admitted: “For the first time in my career, I don’t have any long-term plans. I live in the moment and I’ll see what happens. After Sofia, I am going to play in China and then an exhibition tournament in Saudi Arabia.

“After that, I don’t know. We’ll see how I feel and we’ll judge. Family life is very important to me. I want to be with my wife and children, to be part of their daily lives, which I haven’t been able to do for many years.”

Djokovic has only won one title – the Olympics – in 2024 and he is currently outside the top eight in the Race to Turin for the ATP Nitto Finals. He has stated this is not an aim – and winning an eighth end-of-season title will not make any difference to his legacy. He has only missed one ATP Nitto Finals – when he was injured in 2017 – since his 2007 debut.

But the less he plays – and the further down the rankings he drops – makes it more difficult to win titles as he will have to face better players in earlier rounds. It was a vicious circle Andy Murray found himself in during the latter years of his career.

John McEnroe declared the “official changing of the guard” in men’s tennis after Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz claimed all four Grand Slams this year.

And their rivalry promises to dominate tennis for the next decade although the Italian is still facing a ban for failing two drug tests in March. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has appealed the decision of an independent tribunal to clear Sinner and is seeking a suspension.

The world No.1 beat Djokovic in the Australian Open semi-final – and then Daniil Medvedev in the final – to set the tone for the season.

Fast forward to October and his pre-tournament press conference in Shanghai suggested he will not leave tennis behind. Captaining his beloved Davis Cup team or getting more involved in tennis politics – he founded the Professional Tennis Players’ Association in 2019 – are two obvious paths.

“My love for tennis will never fade away,” he said on Wednesday. “I have a lot of emotions when I’m playing, and not particularly only in the tournament, but also practice sessions. Sometimes it’s not always going your way, but I think my relationship with tennis goes much deeper than a tournament or a year or success or failure. It’s just a sport that I fell in love with when I was very young, and I still have the love for the sport.

“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.”

The polyglot ended his press conference with a phrase in Chinese: “”My love for tennis is as deep as ever,” Djokovic said.