Novak Djokovic schedule: Tournament director reveals tennis great ‘keen’ to play key clay event
Madrid Open tournament director Feliciano Lopez has claimed that Novak Djokovic is “keen” to return to the event in 2026 despite a string of recent withdrawals.
World No 4 Djokovic has only competed at two events so far in 2026, with the Serbian memorably reaching the Australian Open final, before a fourth-round exit in Indian Wells in March.
The Serbian’s schedule has been limited in recent years, and following his Indian Wells defeat to Jack Draper, he decided to skip the second half of the Sunshine Swing in Miami.
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Having withdrawn from the second Masters 1000 event of the year, Djokovic then withdrew from the third, with the 38-year-old confirmed to be absent from next week’s Monte Carlo Masters.
However, it does appear that Djokovic will return to action at the Masters 1000 event in Madrid, which begins on April 20.
Tournament director and former player Lopez has revealed his optimism that the 24-time Grand Slam champion will compete inside the Caja Magica later this month.
“He’s keen to come to Madrid, that’s what I’ve been told,” said Lopez, speaking on Radio Nacional Spain.
“Obviously, we know Djokovic’s schedule lately is what it is. He has the ability to play very little and still be fighting for the big titles at almost 40 years old.
“What I think is that he’s keen to come to Madrid, so it’s one of his priorities of the clay court season, obviously after Roland Garros.
“We have to be very respectful of this because he plays so infrequently and chooses his tournaments so specifically and precisely… We have to be cautious, but if everything goes well, we’ll have Djokovic in Madrid too.”
Djokovic is a three-time champion in Madrid, lifting the title in 2011, 2016, and 2019.
However, he has been an infrequent presence at the Masters 1000 tournament in recent years, only playing the tournament twice since his third title seven years ago.
The event was cancelled due to COVID in 2020, and the Serbian did not compete in 2021, before a run to the semi-final in 2022.
Djokovic then skipped the event in both 2023 and 2024 before returning in 2025, where he fell to Matteo Arnaldi in a shock second-round defeat.
The Serbian was on the entry list for the tournament that was released this week, joining the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
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