7 occasions when Novak Djokovic retired mid-match during a Grand Slam

Novak Djokovic was forced to retire in his Australian Open semi-final against Alexander Zverev – marking his seventh mid-match retirement at Grand Slam level.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion felt he could not continue the match, after suffering a muscle tear in his leg during his quarter-final match against Carlos Alcaraz.
- Roland Garros 2005 – Guillermo Coria
As a fresh-faced 18-year-old, Djokovic had to qualify for his second Grand Slam main draw appearance. Once he did, however, he swept through his first-round match, thrashing Robby Ginepri 6-0, 6-0, 6-3 in a match which took just 80 minutes.
In the second round, he faced the finalist from the previous year’s edition – Guillermo Coria. Djokovic would take an early lead, claiming the first set 6-4 – but was seemingly experiencing breathing and cramping issues throughout. Eventually, after dropping the second set 6-3 and going down 3-2 in the third set, the eventual three-time Roland Garros champion said enough was enough and retired from the match.
- Roland Garros 2006 – Rafael Nadal
A year later, Djokovic went a few matches further and made the quarter-finals in Paris. Once there, he would face Nadal – his biggest rival – for the first time.
After dropping the first two sets 6-4, 6-4, the Serb seemed to be suffering from lower back pain – although was still playing at a very high level – and decided not to finish the match.
The eventual 14-time Roland Garros champion, Nadal, stated
“I was surprised when he retired. He had problems but was still playing good.”
- Wimbledon 2007 – Rafael Nadal
Roll the clock forward to Wimbledon in 2007, Djokovic had truly asserted himself at the top of the tennis world stage. He arrived at SW19 as a fourth seed, and made a run to his first Grand Slam semi-final, beating Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis along the way.
Again, the Serb would face Nadal, but this time in more favourable conditions – on grass. This time, Djokovic took the first set 6-3, and looked comfortably the better player.
However, the future seven-time Wimbledon champion began to show signs of elbow discomfort and dropped the second set 6-1, before being broken and going down 4-1 in the third – throwing in the towel.
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- Australian Open 2009 – Andy Roddick
After winning his maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne the year prior, Djokovic breezed into the quarter-finals – looking good to go further.
However, in the final eight, he would meet former US Open champion Andy Roddick and go on to claim a tight first set via a tiebreak. The second and third were won by Roddick 6-4, 6-2 before a 2-1 lead in the fourth for Djokovic signalled the end of his title defence.
In this instance, there was some controversy between the two players. Djokovic stated that the issue was due to overall body soreness from the heat, but Roddick – in his post-match press conference – sarcastically listed possible ailments such as ‘bird flu’ and the ‘common cold and cough’.
Roger Federer, who was awaiting the winner of the match, stated
“It’s happened before, he’s not the guy who’s never given up before, so that’s kind of disappointing to see.”
- Wimbledon 2017 – Tomas Berdych
Novak Djokovic would go more than eight years without a retirement at any of the Grand Slams, until 2017. The year had been well below the Serb’s usual standards, winning two ATP 250 events – Doha and Eastbourne – but falling well short at the Australian Open and Roland Garros.
At Wimbledon, Djokovic looked far more like himself and beat the likes Martin Klizan, Ernests Gulbis, and Adrian Mannarino along the way to the quarter-finals. He would face the ever-dangerous 11th seed Tomas Berdych on Court One, who claimed a first-set tiebreak before breaking in Djokovic’s first service game in the second set – with the Serb shaking his head and ending the match.
The reason given was elbow pain, which caused the former world No 1 to end his season and – eventually – resort to surgery to ease the discomfort.
- US Open 2019 – Stan Wawrinka
In 2019, Djokovic was having a stellar year – having won the Australian Open and Wimbledon – and came into the last Grand Slam of the year as the favourite.
However, during his first three matches, it was obvious that the title-favourite was experiencing elbow discomfort, although the veteran legend managed it as well as he could.
In the fourth round, he would have a rematch of the US Open 2016 final – against three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka.
The Swiss would prove to be a step too far, with Djokovic losing a close first and second set 6-4, 7-5 and going down a crucial 2-1 break in the third. Just when it looked like the Serb may just let the match come to a natural conclusion – having begun the third set – he walked to the net and hugged Wawrinka, ending the match in retirement.
- Australian Open 2025 – Alexander Zverev
Coming into the 2025 Australian Open, Djokovic looked rejuvenated and hungry for more titles – with a certain Andy Murray in his coaching box.
Prior to his semi-final match, the 10-time champion looked like he was rounding into some of his best form in the prior 12 months. This level culminated in a stunning 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 victory over the world No 3 Carlos Alcaraz, looking the fitter player by the end of it – despite the age gap.
However, whilst the win was one of the best of his late career, it would come at a cost. During the first half of the match, Djokovic would attempt to return a drop shot and appeared to tweak his leg.
Coming into the semi-final against Zverev, the Serb chose not to practice in the prior 48 hours and, instead, prioritise the rest. During the match, Djokovic seemed to be moving at an adequate level, but did not appear comfortable running out wide.
The match followed serve, with Zverev being far too passive for his own liking, but claiming the first set nonetheless in a tiebreak thanks to a shocker of a volley from Djokovic at 6-5 in the tiebreak.
It was at that point that the former world No 1 couldn’t continue, and left the stadium with a stunned crowd – and opponent.
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