Novak Djokovic has shed light on the time he considered retiring due to feeling “miserable on the court” and playing “the worst tennis” of his career.
The tennis icon highlighted the period after his elbow surgery as the time he “wanted to leave tennis”, while recalling how he had been “avoiding surgery at all costs.”
Having cut short his 2017 season due to an elbow injury, Djokovic reluctantly underwent surgery on the issue in January 2018 after it continued to trouble him at the start of that season.
After returning to action, Djokovic suffered shock back-to-back losses to Taro Daniel and Benoit Paire in his opening matches in Indian Wells and Miami in March 2018.
The Serbian regained some form during the clay-court season, where he reached the semi-finals of the Italian Open and the quarter-finals of the French Open.
Djokovic then made the final of the Queen’s Club Championships, before he ended a two-year Grand Slam drought by winning his 13th major at the 2018 Wimbledon Championships.
This was the beginning of another dominant period in Djokovic’s career as he has incredibly claimed 12 of his 24 Grand Slam titles since turning 30 and after this period of struggle.
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Speaking recently at the 2024 Upfront Summit, Djokovic spoke about how he felt like walking away from the sport six years ago following his elbow issues.
“I had a fantastic career, and no one was really telling me ‘Maybe you should think of slowing down.’ I did feel like I wanted to leave tennis, I must say that, particularly a few months after the surgery,” the world No 1 explained.
“I played the worst tennis that I ever played. I was losing to guys that I never lost to, and I just felt miserable on the court, and I felt, ‘maybe this is the moment.’
“So I gathered my team and I told them I was starting to distance myself from professional tennis, I thought it was maybe time for the next chapter.”
The 36-year-old also outlined his belief in prevention and preference to avoid surgery, which led to him trying to play through his injury.
“I believe very strongly in prevention, not only in sports, but in anything really in life. So, I’ve had only one major surgery, I had a major injury to my elbow. Wear and tear, obviously, over the years, a lot of long matches, long seasons,” Djokovic continued.
“And I was always really against tablets and painkillers, and I never really wanted to get into that, but I had to, there was no other way. I started the season, I was avoiding surgery at all costs, but I realised I had to have surgery.”
