On his personal page, Djokovic said he has not reached his best physical condition to compete at the ATP tournament held in Adelaide. The 38-year-old tennis player affirmed that his priority goal at this time is the Australian Open and hopes to be present in Melbourne soon.
Previously, Djokovic was crowned at Adelaide International three years ago and always considered this an important tournament in the preparation process for the first Grand Slam of the year.
Not participating in Adelaide International means that Djokovic will enter the Australian Open 2026 without another official warm-up match. This raises concerns about the possibility of reaching the highest form of the ten-time Australian Open champion.
Former world No. 1 Andy Roddick believes this is not a positive sign for Djokovic. According to Roddick, at the age of 38, Djokovic's recovery ability is no longer the same as before.
If he does not ensure speed and strength, the Serbian tennis player will face many difficulties when facing young opponents who are in high form such as Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz, as well as many tennis players with superior physical foundations.
In the 2025 season, Djokovic had a shoulder problem at the Athens Open, an injury that forced him to withdraw from the ATP Finals. Although still nurturing his ambition to conquer his 25th Grand Slam title in his career, his current condition makes Djokovic no longer highly rated when entering the top matches.
At the Australian Open 2026, Djokovic was seeded No. 4 and could only face strong opponents such as Sinner, Alcaraz or Alexander Zverev from the semi-finals. In the previous season, Djokovic reached the semi-finals of all 4 Grand Slam tournaments, but could not go further to participate in the final.
