Former world No 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov has revealed his “doubt” that Novak Djokovic can win a record-extending 25th Grand Slam singles title in the future.
No man in tennis history can match Djokovic’s staggering haul of 24 Grand Slam singles titles, with the Serbian ultimately set to finish ahead of legendary rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the all-time Grand Slam standings.
However, while Djokovic’s grip atop the all-time standings is likely to remain for quite some time, it has now been over two years since the Serbian’s most recent Grand Slam victory at the 2023 US Open.
He has reached just one major final since then — at Wimbledon in 2024 — with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner having split the last eight Grand Slam titles between them, and dominating on the ATP Tour as a whole.
While Alcaraz turns 23 and Sinner turns 25 in 2026, Djokovic will turn 39, and has faced an array of physical issues in recent years.
The Serbian is still competing at a high level and finished 2025 ranked fourth in the world despite playing just 13 tournaments, though he was beaten in the semi-final of all four Grand Slam tournaments.
Djokovic was forced to retire injured versus Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open, before straight-set defeats to Sinner at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, and to Alcaraz at the US Open.
Beating the ‘New 2’ is proving one of the biggest obstacles to Djokovic’s hopes of a 25th major title, and former world No 1 Kafelnikov doubts he will overcome it.
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Speaking to CLAY, the two-time Grand Slam singles champion claimed that Djokovic was “simply too old” to compete for major titles at this stage.
Kafelnikov said: “Honestly, I doubt that he can do it.
“He is the greatest player of all time, no question about it, but competing with these young guys… Novak is not even 35 anymore, he’s 39 now ]in May]. Believe me, the body and metabolism don’t allow you to recover quickly enough or move like a younger player. Nobody can beat nature.
“A 39-year-old is simply too old to compete with a 22-year-old in peak physical condition. He can still compete in best-of-three events, but best-of-five… that’s practically impossible.”
Having not won a Grand Slam title in two seasons, many have questioned how long Djokovic will remain competing in the sport.
There is no doubt that the Serbian is still competing at a very high level, with the 38-year-old arguably still the best male player in the world behind both Alcaraz and Sinner.
Djokovic recently reiterated that he would remain on tour while still competing at a “high level”, and was using the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games as one of his main targets.
But Kafelnikov, who was also an Olympic gold medallist and four-time Grand Slam doubles champion during his career, claimed it was hard to understand the reasons why Djokovic was still playing.
“I honestly have no clue,” added Kafelnikov.
“I’ve said it before -– maybe he feels too loyal to his fan base around the world, to the people who want him to keep going. And that’s fine. Hats off to Novak for that.
“It just shows his courage and dedication. But I really can’t come up with any other reason why he’s still playing.”
Djokovic’s 2026 season will start at the ATP 500 Adelaide International, where he will be the top seed.
That will then be followed by the Australian Open, where he has won 10 of his 24 Grand Slam singles titles.
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The post Novak Djokovic told it’s ‘practically impossible’ for him to win 25th Grand Slam by former world No 1 appeared first on Tennis365.
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