RIYADH: Novak Djokovic has affirmed he has no intention of retiring, revealing that his motivation for longevity is inspired by elite athletes from other sports, including NBA legend LeBron James, former NFL star Tom Brady, and footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 38-year-old Serbian, who owns a record 24 Grand Slam titles, shows no signs of slowing down despite his last major victory coming in 2023. He reached the semi-finals in all four Grand Slam tournaments this year and is currently ranked world number five.
Djokovic is in Saudi Arabia to compete in the high-stakes Six Kings Slam exhibition event, where a semi-final victory against Italy’s Jannik Sinner on Thursday would secure him a final match against world number one Carlos Alcaraz.
“Longevity is one of my biggest motivations. I really want to see how far I can go,” Djokovic stated during an appearance at the Joy Forum in Riyadh.
“If you see across all the global sports, LeBron James, he’s still going strong, he’s 40, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Tom Brady played till he was 40-something years old. I mean, it’s unbelievable. They’re inspiring me as well. So I want to keep going and that’s one of the motivations I have.”
Beyond personal achievement, Djokovic expressed a strong desire to be an active participant in the future evolution of tennis.
“I want to also live to see, live meaning still keep on playing professionally, to see the change that is coming for our sport,” he said. “And I’m super excited about it. I feel like tennis is a sport that can be greatly, and will be greatly transformed.”
“I want to be part of that change. I want to be not just part of that change, but I want to be playing when we kind of rejuvenate our sport and set the new platform that is going to go on for decades to come.”
When questioned if younger rivals like Sinner and Alcaraz would need to force him into retirement by consistently defeating him, Djokovic, who captured his 100th career title in Geneva this year, responded with characteristic resolve: “I’m sorry to disappoint them, it’s just not happening.”
