{"id":1181,"date":"2025-10-16T14:05:32","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T14:05:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/?p=1181"},"modified":"2025-10-16T14:05:32","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T14:05:32","slug":"novak-djokovic-issues-defiant-retirement-vow-as-he-claims-tennis-will-be-transformed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/?p=1181","title":{"rendered":"Novak Djokovic issues defiant retirement vow as he claims tennis \u2018will be transformed\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Novak Djokovic<\/a> has issued his most defiant comment yet over his future in the sport, as he served up a compelling series of statements as he appeared alongside basketball legend Shaquille O\u2019Neal and UFC chief Dana White at the Joy Forum<\/a> in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

Djokovic spoke passionately about his upbringing in Serbia and his desire to improve the tennis landscape, as he suggested there are developments under discussion that could transform the sport of tennis.<\/p>\n

When he was asked about whether he was considering retirement from the sport, Djokovic spoke at length about his desire to remain involved and his fiery comments are certain to raise plenty of eyebrows.<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabian money has had a big impact in boxing, golf and football in recent years, with this week\u2019s Six Kings Slam event in Riyadh a foray into tennis for the Arabic nation.<\/p>\n

There have been suggestions that they could look to expand their move into tennis with the potential for more events in the Kingdom and Djokovic has vowed to be a part of that.<\/p>\n

More Tennis News<\/h2>\n

WATCH \u2013 Taylor Fritz talks to Tennis365 as he gives his verdict on Novak Djokovic\u2019s future<\/a><\/p>\n

Every injury Novak Djokovic has suffered since start of 2024 revealed after Shanghai struggles<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cLongevity is one of my biggest motivations and I really want to see how far I can go,\u201d said Djokovic.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see across all the global sports, you know, LeBron James is still going strong. Cristiano Ronaldo, Tom Brady played until he was 40. I want to keep going.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also want to live, I mean keep on playing professionally, to see the change that is coming for our sport and I\u2019m super excited about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe things that are happening that I can\u2019t openly speak about at the moment, but I feel like in the next couple of years, I feel like tennis is a sport that can be and will be transformed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be part of that change and not just part of that change, but I want to be playing when we rejuvenate our sport and set the platform that is going to be there for decades to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was then asked directly about retirement and he added: \u201cIt\u2019s not happening. I\u2019m sorry to disappoint them. It\u2019s just not happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

EXCLUSIVE \u2013 World No 4 Taylor Fritz talks to Tennis365 ahead of the 6 Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia #Fritz<\/a> #6KingsSlam<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/c3WKcOz74q<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tennis365 (@tennis365com) October 14, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

World No 4 Taylor Fritz spoke to Tennis365 about the debate over Djokovic\u2019s future as he plays in this week\u2019s Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia and he echoed the sentiments of the 24-time Grand Slam champion when he told us the 38-year-old who beat him in this year\u2019s US Open quarter-finals is still a big threat at the top level.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe hasn\u2019t really shown too many signs of slowing down,\u201d stated Fritz when we asked him about Djokovic. \u201cHe obviously has had a great year, semis at every Grand Slam.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s tough to even think about him retiring or being done soon when he is producing the level he is producing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Djokovic has confirmed he will play in an ATP Tour event in Athens, but has yet to clarify whether he will compete in the ATP Finals in Turin, after he missed that tournament last year.<\/p>\n

READ NEXT: Why Novak Djokovic may miss the ATP Finals as big schedule move confirmed <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Novak Djokovic issues defiant retirement vow as he claims tennis \u2018will be transformed\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Tennis365<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Novak Djokovic has issued his most defiant comment yet over his future in the sport, as he served up a compelling series of statements as he appeared alongside basketball legend Shaquille O\u2019Neal and UFC chief Dana White at the Joy Forum in Saudi Arabia. Djokovic spoke passionately about his upbringing in Serbia and his desire […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1181\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}