Novak Djokovic on his optimal weight, longevity, flexibility, avoiding injury – ‘It helps extend my career’

Those who watch Novak Djokovic’s physical appearance closely will have noticed he has gained some weight, but it is all part of his plan to extend his career at the highest level.

He is far – very far – from being bulky, but the 23-time Grand Slam winner does carry some extra muscle these days as he had some health issues after being “very slim” a few years ago.

After switching things up a bit, the 36-year-old has once again found the perfect formula when it comes to his fitness habits.

When asked about gaining weight during his post-match press conference after his third-round win over Stan Wawrinka at Wimbledon, Djokovic replied: “Hard for me to get slimmer than I already am, or was a few years ago. I went through my phases where I was also very, very slim. Struggled with some problems with my stomach, et cetera, had to deal with that,” he said.

“I do feel great. I think I have an optimal weight right now in terms of the body weight. That’s I guess such a superficial thing. There’s so many more aspects than just body weight that are factors that are more important. You need to combine it with being dynamic, powerful, flexible.

“Tennis is a sport that is quite complex in this way. It requires a player to have really a great balance, an optimal balance, between all these traits, so to say, physical traits. Then again, we are all different. We all have different body types.”

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Djokovic is known for his elasticity – something that hasn’t been impacted by the extra bulk – and it has been key to his longevity.

He added: “I always have worked a lot on my flexibility, since a young age. I was taught this was extremely important because that’s going to give me longevity. Focusing a lot and doing a lot on prevention. Just before I get on the practice court, there’s a lot of work that goes into it, a few hours of work before I actually get to the training court.

“That helps me. It helps extend my career. It helps me still compete at the highest level. It helps me prevent any – God forbid – injuries or anything like that. It’s kind of if you see other players at that age and stage, it’s kind of expected to have a major injury later in your career just because of the wear and tear of the body.

“Luckily for me, I’ve had only one significant injury that kept me out of the circuit for almost a year on and off with the surgery of the elbow. Other than that, there was some muscle tears and injuries, but generally I’ve kept healthy, considering the intensity of my career and the amount of matches I’ve played in the last 20 years.”