Novak Djokovic retirement suspicions raised after locker room conversation

Novak Djokovic has been tipped to retire within the next 12 months following his Wimbledon defeat at the hands of Jannik Sinner. The veteran Serb was no match for his younger rival at SW19, with his age showing as he slipped to a straight-sets defeat. It fuelled speculation that Djokovic could decide to call time on his glittering career in the not-too-distant future.

It has been nearly two years since the 37-year-old last won a Grand Slam title, prevailing at the US Open back in 2023. He is regularly accused of lacking motivation and Nick Kyrgios believes that is indeed the case. The latter has been a staunch critic of Djokovic in years gone by, though he now sees his former rival as a friend.

Speaking on the podcast, Kyrgios recalled a telling conversation he had with Djokovic in the locker room at Indian Wells earlier this year.

"I think he's got to be finished soon," he said. "Like, come on... what more? I asked him this at Indian Wells this year. We were in the locker room and I said: 'Why are you here? Why are you playing?' He just goes: 'I don't know'.

"I go: 'What about your kids? I know you want to spend time with your family'. He said: 'Yeah, I don't know'. That was the first time I think he misses his family a lot. I stay in touch with him all the time.

"I can't see him playing for more than another year. Not again. Not the whole year again. He is so professional. I am just speaking from my experience if I had a family like his and kids.

"It's like Andy Murray. It's like you play your whole career and then you retire and you don't spend any time at home, you just go straight into coaching again. If I was his partner I would be so angry."

It comes after Serena Williams' former coach Rennae Stubbs suggested that Djokovic could hang up his racket after one final outing at the Australian Open.

On her podcast, she said: "We all thought Wimbledon was his best chance to win another Grand Slam title, but he failed to achieve this goal. I believe that his next huge goal will be the Australian Open, a tournament that has always been special for him.

"He had one of the worst experiences of his life in Melbourne a few years ago, but he won 10 times there. I do not exclude that the next edition of the AO could also be the last tournament of his career."

Djokovic is scheduled to return to the court at next month's Cincinnati Open but he is yet to confirm whether or not he will play. He withdrew from last year's tournament to give himself time to recover from the Olympics, where he took the gold medal.

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