Novak Djokovic Ends 2024 Season, Withdraws From ATP Finals Due to Injury
Hyderabad: World No. 5 Novak Djokovic has ended his 2024 season after announcing that he is withdrawing from the season-ending ATP Finals due to an injury.
The Serb will not play the ATP Finals, scheduled from November 10 to November 17 in Turin, Italy, due to an ongoing injury.
Djokovic took to social media to announce the news but did not divulge the nature of the injury or the expected timeline of return.
In a statement on social media, Djokovic said: “I was really looking forward to being there, but due to ongoing injury I won’t be playing next week. Apologies to those who were planning to see me. Wishing all the players a great tournament.”
Djokovic has won the ATP Finals a record seven times in his career and is a two-time defending champion. As he was ranked fifth in the world, he did not qualify for the ATP Finals yet and was sixth in the race alongside Casper Ruud, Alex De Minaur and Andrey Rublev.
The trio filled the three spots to complete the eight-men lineup.
The top-eight singles players in the world and the top-eight doubles teams in the world will play the ATP Finals.
World No.1 Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Taylor Fritz are the top-five players who have qualified for the ATP Finals before Djokovic’s withdrawal.
The Serb, a 24-time Grand Slam winner, was recently in action at the Six Kings Slam exhibition tennis tournament in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The 37-year-old was up against his on court arch-rival and friend Rafael Nadal and even beat the Spaniard in a match for the third place.
Prior to the match against Nadal, Sinner beat Djokovic in the semifinals. This was the second consecutive time Djokovic was losing to Sinner after his earlier defeat in the final of the 2024 Shanghai Masters tournament.