Novak Djokovic’s ‘selfish’ stance is not fair to those waiting for his big decision

Novak Djokovic has confirmed he will make a last gasp decision over whether he will compete at this year’s ATP Finals, with his refusal to confirm if he will be in Turin leaving him open to criticism.

The legend who has won the ATP Finals on seven occasions qualified for another end-of-season finale with plenty to spare, even though he has only played a limited tournament schedule in 2025.

With Djokovic confirming he would prefer to spend more time with his young family than play in events that no longer motivate him, the 38-year-old has played what can best be described as a part-time schedule this year.

Yet his appearance in the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments and impressive consistency in the events he has played ensured he was certain to get an invite to the ATP Finals.

His name was included in the draw for the event and he is due to play Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur in what appears to be the tougher of the two groups, even though he has been spared a group stage meeting with Jannik Sinner.

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Yet all the discussions around what may lie in wait for Djokovic have been put on hold after he confirmed he has yet to decide whether he will make the trip to Turin after he finishes playing in this week’s ATP 250 event in Athens.

After pulling out of the Six Kings Slam exhibition event due to injury last month, Djokovic has looked jaded all of his matches in Greece this week, even though he has produced some impressive tennis to make the latter stages of the competition.

By refusing to confirm whether he will play in Turin, Djokovic forced Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti to play in the Athens tournaments as he looked to gather the ranking points he would require to overtake Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime in the ATP Race rankings that decide who will play at the ATP Finals.

While Djokovic has earned the right to make a late decision on playing in Turin, his indifference could be seen as disrespectful both to the tournament and the players waiting to see whether he will compete.

If Djokovic has made his intentions clear earlier, Musetti could have had a full week away from competitive action to prepare to play in Turin and Auger-Aliassime would also know whether he will be a player in the draw or an alternate next week.

With the draw now confirmed, Djokovic’s place will need to be taken by a lower ranked player if he does drop out and it feels like he is enjoying the suspense he is creating by his refusal to show his hand.

Rumours suggesting he will play have been cancelled out by his comments that he will only decide at the end of the tournament in Athens, but this is not how one of the game’s all-time greats needs to behave.

Djokovic will now the convention in tennis of pulling out of an event before a draw if he has limited intention of playing, so he will be criticised if news comes through over the next couple of days that he he withdrawing from the ATP Finals.

The most successful player of all-time would argue he has done enough in the game to follow his own rules, but this looks like a selfish move from a player who appears to be enjoying keeping his fellow players, ATP Tour chiefs and tennis fans on tenterhooks waiting for his big announcement. 

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