THE LAST DANCE? WHY THE 2026 AUSTRALIAN OPEN COULD BE NOVAK DJOKOVIC’S FINAL ACT
Mark Woodforde warns Novak Djokovic may retire in 2026 if the Australian Open fails. Inside the quest for a 25th Grand Slam title.
Novak Djokovic is heading into another season with questions swirling around him. Former Grand Slam champ Mark Woodforde thinks Djokovic might hang up his racket sooner than most people expect.
Djokovic is chasing his 25th Grand Slam title—a record—and trying for his 11th Australian Open win. But at 38, he’s up against some tough odds. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have been dominating men’s tennis for the past two years, and beating them won’t be easy.
Djokovic has said he wants to stretch his career all the way to the 2028 Olympics, but that’s a huge ask. He’s admitted his motivation isn’t what it used to be.
Now, Woodforde, who has 17 Grand Slam doubles titles, shared his thoughts about where Djokovic’s head might be as he heads into his 22nd Australian Open.
“If he doesn’t have a good result at the AO, I wouldn’t be shocked if he decides to retire,” Woodforde told Tennis365. “That’s just my gut feeling.”
“You can’t put ‘mediocre’ and ‘Novak Djokovic’ in the same sentence,” he added. “Last year, you could blame injuries and recovery from the previous season, but age is catching up with him. It happens fast as you get older. This Australian Open is key. It might decide whether we’ll still see him out there in 2026.”
Pat Cash, another former Wimbledon winner, also weighed in. He said Djokovic is trying to do something almost impossible—win a 25th major against younger opponents.
“I’m really curious to see how he goes,” Cash said.
He talked about how tricky it is at the end of a career to train just enough to last those long, brutal matches, but not so hard that you get hurt.
“You have to save enough energy so you’re not exhausted, but not overdo it and end up injured before the tournament even starts. When you’re young, you can bounce back from a five-set match pretty quickly. Later on, your body just doesn’t recover the same way. That’s just reality. So the fact that Novak is still out there is incredible.”
“He always finds a way to solve problems, so it’s going to be fascinating to see how he handles the Australian Open. Has he played enough? Has he trained enough? Is he pacing himself for the big matches—and will that approach work?”
“I just don’t see him beating Alcaraz and Sinner in back-to-back five-setters. That’s the real challenge. He might make the semis again, but then he runs into the same wall.”
SINCARAZ UNITED: CARLOS ALCARAZ AND JANNIK SINNER TEASE A SHOCK 2026 DOUBLES TEAM-UP FOR FANS
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and No. 2 Jannik Sinner confirm they are open to a "surprise" doubles pairing in 2026. Get the details.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner aren’t just fierce rivals—they’re friends, too. Even though they’re at the top of the ATP rankings, first and second, they get along really well. Lately, people have started asking if they’ll ever play doubles together.
These two have become the main guys in men’s tennis. They’ve already played each other 16 times, and six of those matches happened after May 2025. They’ve faced off in the last three Grand Slam finals, with Alcaraz winning 10 out of those 16. When Sinner beat Alcaraz at the Six Kings Slam exhibition in Riyadh last October, they both talked about how strong their friendship is, even though they’re always battling on court.
Sinner said, “It’s nice to have a great rivalry and, more importantly, a great friendship off the court. We have a very special friendship, and it’s very nice.”
Alcaraz agreed. “People think when two tennis players are competing for big things, giving their best, they can’t have a great friendship off the court. But I think we’ve shown it’s possible.”
Just last week in Incheon, South Korea, they played again—Alcaraz won a tight exhibition, 7-5, 7-6(6). At a press conference there, someone asked Alcaraz if he’d ever play doubles with Sinner.
“Of course,” Alcaraz said. “But, you know, we’re so focused on singles that it’s tough. If you go deep in singles, you don’t really have time to recover if you’re also playing doubles. But for one tournament? That would be awesome. We’ll talk about it. Maybe this year, maybe next. It’ll be a surprise.”
Sinner, sitting next to him, jumped in: “Yeah, I agree. We’ve never actually talked about it, but it’d be fun—just once—to play on the same side of the net. Again, the singles schedule makes it hard, but we’ll see. Maybe it’ll happen soon.”
Honestly, if these two team up for doubles, fans will lose their minds. Watching the top two players in the world join forces would be something special. Let’s see if they actually pull it off.
DANIIL MEDVEDEV CLINCHES BRISBANE TITLE: FIRST TOP SEED TO WIN SINCE FEDERER
Daniil Medvedev warms up for the Australian Open with a 22nd career title, while Alexander Bublik makes a historic Top 10 debut.
Daniil Medvedev wrapped up a fantastic week at the Brisbane International, becoming the tournament’s first top seed to win the title since Roger Federer. He fought past Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 7-6(1), grabbing his 22nd ATP trophy at his 22nd different event. Medvedev only dropped serve once and finished with 24 winners and 23 unforced errors. Now, he joins an elite group—just the third active player with 20 or more hardcourt titles, after Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner.
Lately, Medvedev’s found new energy with coaches Thomas Johansson and Rohan Goetzke by his side. Johansson, you might remember, won the Australian Open back in 2002. Goetzke’s got his own track record, having coached Richard Krajicek to the Wimbledon title in 1996 and worked with Mario Ancic.
“Missing Turin last year gave me extra time to prepare with my new team, and honestly, it helped. I’m glad I started the year strong after that preparation,” Medvedev said.
He’s looked sharp to finish last season, making the quarters at six of his last seven tournaments, a bunch of semis, and picking up two more titles. “I’m happy with my game. When I’m playing well, there aren’t many guys who can beat me, if any,” he said.
Now, he’s aiming to carry that momentum into the Australian Open. He’s hungry to break a run of tough results at the majors—last year was the first time since 2017 that he didn’t win back-to-back matches at any Grand Slam.
“Last year wasn’t easy; it was a bit up and down, and changing my team made a difference. I’m happy with where I’m at,” he said. “I haven’t played a Slam with the new team yet. If I play like I did in Brisbane and lose early in Melbourne, I’ll be surprised.”
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, Alexander Bublik kicked off his season by winning the title and breaking into the world’s top 10 for the first time at 28. He upset top seed Lorenzo Musetti 7-6(2), 6-3, notching his fifth trophy since June and his ninth overall. Bublik blasted 34 winners, including 10 aces, and for the first time since the 2024 Dubai Open, he beat a top-10 player on an outdoor hardcourt.
“I have no words,” Bublik said. “Honestly, the only goal this season was to reach the top 10, and here I am, winning the title in week one.”
Musetti’s struggles in finals continue—Hong Kong is his seventh straight final loss since winning Naples in 2022. Bublik, on the other hand, has won eight of his last nine finals since June 2023.
“If you’d told me last April I’d be top 10, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Bublik said. “But standing here now, it feels great. I just want to keep it going.”
And just like Medvedev, Bublik was born in Russia but has played for Kazakhstan since 2016.