Novak Djokovic had previously told his team to inform his sponsors that he was stopping his tennis career – before reversing his decision and going on to win 12 more Grand Slams. It was in 2018 when the Serb – who had accrued just half of his major titles – was left disillusioned with the sport after suffering from injuries and splitting from then-coach Andre Agassi.
Djokovic, 38, fell to a surprise defeat against Hyeon Chung in the fourth round of the Australian Open before Australian undergoing surgery on an elbow injury which had been hampering him from the previous year. After returning to action, another upset occurred as he lost to qualifier Taro Daniel at Indian Wells. A second-round defeat to Benoit Paire at the Miami Masters followed and was the last straw for Djokovic, who rounded up his team and wife Jelena Djokovic and told them that he intended to quit the sport. He recently opened up about the low point in his life for an interview with compatriot Slaven Bilic on ‘Failure of the Champion’, explaining how he ultimately reversed his decision during a holiday to the Dominican Republic.
Jelena previously detailed the story, telling journalist Graham Bensinger in 2020: “After that match, he wanted to quit. He gathered all the members of his team and told them, ‘You know what: I’m done, I’m quitting.’ We cried and told him that he couldn’t do it, that it wasn’t the right time. He didn’t want to play tennis, and he didn’t even want to see a ball pass in front of him.”
Djokovic was so devastated that according to his wife, who first met the tennis icon in high school, he had instructed his then-agent Edoardo Artaldi to tell his sponsors including sportswear brand Lacoste that he was going to halt his career. “It was a terrible loss,” she added.
“And then he just, you know, gathered all of us and said, ‘You know guys, I’m done.’ And I was like, ‘What?’ And he goes like, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘Edoardo, you can speak with my sponsors.
“‘I want to be clear with them. I don’t know if I’m stopping for six months, a year, or forever. Just tell them if they feel like sticking around they can. If they don’t, I’m happy. I just want to make sure everybody is OK with this.'”
Despite his stance, it was his wife and their kids, Stefan and Tara, who inspired Djokovic to go back on his word and return to the tennis court. “He didn’t want to know anything about it,” Jelena added. “But I love tennis and I take the kids to the court every day. On the third day, Novak arrived.
“He saw that we were having fun and that it wasn’t a workout like what he had been used to for years. Novak asked me if he could play and get a racket, but I refused.
“I started teasing him and told him that he had given up. That it was our turn to play tennis. In the end, he served and said that he felt good, then he came back every day to finally call his coach Marian Vajda and ask him to resume training.”
His U-turn became perhaps the best decision of his career as he added a further 12 Grand Slam titles to his name with a record-breaking 24 overall. His quest for a 25th honour at the French Open ended in the semi-finals when he was beaten in straight sets by world No. 1 Jannik Sinner.
After his defeat, the 38-year-old fuelled rumours that it was his last appearance at Roland Garros after he applauded each corner of Court Philippe-Chatrier before touching the clay. In his post-match press conference, he admitted: “This could have been the last match ever I played here, so I don’t know.
“That’s why I was a bit more emotional even in the end. But if this was the farewell match of the Roland Garros for me in my career, it was a wonderful one in terms of the atmosphere and what I got from the crowd.”
