According to Greg Rusedski, Novak Djokovic will prioritize his fitness over playing in the ATP Finals.
Djokovic defended his title at the Paris Masters after withdrawing from the season’s final Masters 1000 competition, although the 37-year-old is poised to qualify for the ATP Finals.
The only way Djokovic could finish outside the Top 8 qualifying slots is if Andrey Rublev and Alex de Minaur win championships next week at the Belgrade Open and the Moselle Open in Metz, respectively, and Casper Ruud makes it to the semifinals in Metz.
However, whether Djokovic intends to compete in the ATP Finals is unknown. The Serbian has yet to decide if he will compete in the year-end competition in Turin if his qualification is confirmed next week.
Doubts were aroused when Djokovic was photographed on vacation with his family, implying that the 24-time Grand Slam champion may have opted to terminate his 2024 season.
Despite the significance of the ATP Finals, Djokovic has previously stated that he may be done with non-Grand Slam tournaments and representing Serbia at this point in his career.
Ivan Ljubicic, Roger Federer’s former coach, believes Djokovic will not compete in this year’s ATP Finals, but he did not rule out the idea of the 24-time Grand Slam champion competing in future years.
Djokovic’s ten Australian Open championships suggest that it is the Grand Slam he is most likely to win again, having failed to win a major title for the first time since 2017. Being fit in January for the Melbourne tournament is obviously a priority for him.
Djokovic has been playing with strapping on his knee since the French Open, after injuring it at Roland-Garros. That prompted him to withdraw from the Paris event, allowing Jannik Sinner to overtake him at No. 1.
Rusedski stated on The Tennis Channel that Djokovic is more concerned with getting his knee 100% fit for 2025 than with winning his eighth ATP Finals title, hence he will most likely retire from the 2024 tournament.
Djokovic’s absence from the ATP Finals would be upsetting, but there are enough of other good players to make up for it, including Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.