Justine Henin predicts when Novak Djokovic will retire from tennis

Kevin Palmer
Novak Djokovic and Justine Henin
Justine Henin about latest Novak Djokovic story

Former world No 1 Justine Henin has predicted when Novak Djokovic will call time on his remarkable tennis career.

Djokovic is in Melbourne looking to win an 11th Australian Open title and, crucially, a record breaking 25th Grand Slam title.

While he has already set an imposing record for the most major titles in the men’s game and is certain to finish his career with more Grand Slams than his great rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Djokovic is tied with Australian legend Margaret Court for the most win the four major tennis tournaments.

Getting that 25th title may be one of his last great goals and Henin has predicted the Serbian great will bring down the curtain on his career when he loses belief in his ability to compete with the best.

Eurosport analyst Henin has suggested Djokovic will not wait for long if he continues to get beaten by world No 1 Jannik Sinner and his young rival Carlos Alcaraz in the biggest tournaments as she suggests the drive for more glory will wane if he does not feel he is a contender.

“With his mentality, if he really doesn’t believe he can win Grand Slams, he stops,” declared Henin.

“He’s not going to be the guy who accepts he cannot beat the best players in the world. He is there because he feels he can win the Australian Open.

“It’s too early to say where his motivation is in Melbourne, but I believe he will be there determined to win.”

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Seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Henin retired from the sport with most of her ambitions realised and she is looking on in awe at Djokovic as he continues to push for more success despite already achieving so much.

Djokovic’s move to hire former rival Andy Murray as his new coach has been a big talking point ahead of the US Open and Henin is convinced the Serbian still believes he will find a way to win another Grand Slam crown.

“It’s crazy that he is still out there competing,” she added. “We all admire that he is still out there and we all try to image what he is feeling and thinking. None of us can imagine how well he can play and he probably doesn’t know that himself.

“He does not even know how he is going to play and how he will handle the situation physically and mentally after everything he has achieved in the past.

“For me, I completely understand why he wants to be there. Okay, we can talk about the season that has been difficult for him last year, but he had one big goal and he reached it at the Paris Olympics.

“He needed time to find new energy and motivation, but maybe that will bring him a new challenge. He will want to show he can be at the same level and play to win again.”

“Will it be enough? We don’t know, but it will be really exciting to see him back with his new coach by his side and it’s amazing to see what he can do with Andy Murray. We are all waiting to see this.”

Djokovic faces the biggest challenge of his career to win what may be his final Grand Slam title, but this ultimate champion has always delivered when he has set his sights on a big goal.

The tennis world will discover of the course of 2025 if Djokovic can still serve up one more moment of glory.

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