Reason why Novak Djokovic decided to play on the Adelaide ATP

Novak Djokovic is preparing for a new season at the highest level, in which he will try to break other records by showing the whole world that the moment of his retirement can still wait. The former world number 1 reached the semi-finals of the four Grand Slam tournaments of the season just ended, and also lifted the trophy in two prestigious tournaments, such as the ATP 250 of Geneva and the ATP 250 of Athens.

Thanks to his consistency in the most important events, the Serbian legend occupied third position in the ATP Race for some time despite a particularly tight schedule. The 38-year-old from Belgrade missed the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin for the second year in a row, preferring to recharge his batteries after his success in Athens, which allowed him to reach 101 career titles.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion took a holiday before training in Greece, where he also had the chance to drive some rallies with young under-14 prospect Rafael Pagonis.

Djokovic plays in Adelaide

In these hours, the news has become official that Nole’s 2026 starts with the Adelaide ATP 250. He will get the chance to compete against big opponents on the eve of the Australian Open, which starts on January 18 at Melbourne Park. Novak wants to win his 11th Happy Slam title, but he is well aware that it will be difficult to beat young rivals such as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in the best of five sets.

The feeling is that Djokovic decided to play in Adelaide the week before the AO, precisely with the aim of refining his automatisms, where he needed his best tennis in the first Major of the new season.

The Serbian veteran shone again in Melbourne this year as he reached the semi-finals by eliminating Spaniard Carlitos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals. The former world number 1 had to withdraw due to an injury during the match against Sascha Zverev.