Novak Djokovic has admitted he is “divided” on the subject of how long he plans to keep playing tennis as there are conflicting parts of him that want different things.
The tennis icon explained the “young boy” in him that “adores” tennis still wants to keep going, but stressed he also does not “want to miss out on too many moments with my children.”
Djokovic, who turned 36 in May last year, had one of the finest seasons of his staggering career in 2023 as he claimed three majors in a season for the fourth time.
The Serbian won seven of the 12 tournaments he played and, as well as his Grand Slam dominance, secured titles at the ATP Finals in Turin, as well as Masters 1000 events in Cincinnati and Paris.
The 24-time major champion reiterated throughout last year that he had no intention to walk away from tennis while he is still winning big titles and breaking records.
“As long as I’m, you know, [a] main contender for the Grand Slams and still, you know, win the biggest tournaments in [the] sport, I will not leave. I mean, unless mentally something happens and I really have no motivation anymore, but that’s not the case for now,” he said in a press conference at the Paris Masters.
The world No 1 will aim to win a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title at the upcoming Australian Open, where he is the defending champion and a 10-time winner.
In a interview with Sport Klub, Djokovic stressed his motivation and hunger to keep playing remains, but highlighted the difficulty of being away from his children.
“To be honest, I’m kind of divided [on when to stop and where to play]. There’s always a part of me that is a young boy who just adores tennis and knows only about tennis and devoted his entire life to tennis and that boy still wants to keep going,” the 36-year-old said.
“And then, on the other side, I’m the father of two children, and I’m away from my family, and every time I travel for an extended period of time, it breaks my heart. So I’m always thinking about, how long should I play, how many tournaments should I play, is it worth it?
“I’m still hungry, I still want to compete, I still can run for hours, thankfully, but it’s more of an emotional aspect. It’s more of like, ‘What is the priority?’ Tennis has been the priority for 30 years, and I don’t want to miss out on too many moments with my children.”
The 98-time ATP titlist also declared he was unsure how he will approach tournament scheduling in 2024 outside of the biggest events.
“I started this year as I normally would, coming earlier to Australia and I love playing here, and I’ve had the best success of my tennis career here, at Grand Slam level on Australian soil,”
“After that? I really don’t know. Normally I do have clarity on where I want to go, what are the goals, and I know the goals are always the Grand Slams and the Olympics. But other than that, I have no idea what other tournaments I will play or not play.”
