John McEnroe predicts when Novak Djokovic will call time on his tennis career

Kevin Palmer 11 Sep 2026 6:15 PM

Novak Djokovic with John McEnroe inset

Novak Djokovic’s future was thrown into question when he crashed out of the US Open in the first round and now tennis legend John McEnroe has joined he debate over what happens next for the Serbian legend.

Djokovic was suffering from ill health during his defeats at the Cincinnati Open against Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante before he lost against a second Argentine when he was beaten in five set by Mariano Navone in the first round of the US Open.

The 24-time Grand Slam-winning great was in tears during the final set of his match at Flushing Meadows, sparking suggestions that he may be closing in on the end of his career.

Former US Open champion Andy Roddick and 1997 finalist Greg Rusedski are among those who have hit out at those urging Djokovic to retire.

And while tennis great McEnroe didn’t urge the Serbian to quit, it is clear that he fears we may soon be waving farewell to the most successful male tennis player of all-time.

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“On the one hand, you figure okay, it’s obviously catching up to him as it does with every athlete at some point,” declared McEnroe, as he spoke at a Eurosport and HBO Event ahead of their coverage of the US Open finals.

“Then on the other hand, he’s had an incredible run. He beat (Jannik) Sinner in Australia (in January), got to the finals, won the first set against Carlos Alcaraz and played well.

“Then he got to the semis at Wimbledon, had a great win over Felix Auger-Aliassime in the round before.

“That said to me that coming into the US Open, he was probably the third or fourth best player in the world. So what we saw in the first round was shocking.

“Father Time, as they say, is undefeated. It’s just one of those things.

“I don’t know what’s going on with him, you know, the heat and humidity. That was something that was that that can be an issue for anyone. This heat and humidity. It wasn’t unbelievably hot.

“So I don’t know what’s gonna happen next. I’m sure that you know he’s thinking hard about what’s next, but at the same time, I don’t think he’d want to go out that way, the way you know what happened. So

“I just don’t know what he’s gonna do, honestly. Whatever makes him happy is what he should do.”

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When asked whether he expected 2027 to be Djokovic’s final year in tennis, McEnroe added: “Well, you would certainly think so. He’s 39 for starters, you know, when it’s just way past most people’s expiration date and tennis, including mine.

“You don’t want to get to a point and say, ‘why did I stop when maybe I could have won more. That’s sort of what Novak’s facing. You got to the finals of Australia. He’s like, maybe I could win one more.

“Will he stop next year? It seems like it’s gonna be soon. You would think that’s a strong possibility, but we’ll have to wait and see.”