Serena Williams' ex-coach assesses Novak Djokovic's future after Serb's early exits from Qatar and Indian Wells

According to Serena Williams' ex-coach Rick Macci, Novak Djokovic's future will be decided by how the Serb fares over the rest of the 2025 tennis season. The legendary Serb has so far endured an underwhelming year for the most part, even though he did reach the semifinals of the 2025 Australian Open.

The former ATP No. 1 and 24-time Major champion got his season underway at the Brisbane International. While he did reach the quarterfinals of the ATP 250 event, he could not make it to the last four, as he was surprisingly ousted by Reilly Opelka. Next, at the Australian Open, he famously defeated young rival Carlos Alcaraz in the quarters despite sustaining an injury.

The injury would prove telling in the Serb's semifinal clash in Melbourne against Alexander Zverev. After losing the first set to the German, Novak Djokovic decided to retire. He recovered in time for the Qatar TotalEnergies Open but lost in his opening encounter at the ATP 500 tournament against Matteo Berrettini. Most recently, at the 2025 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, he was shockingly eliminated by Botic van de Zandschulp.

On Monday, March 10, Rick Macci, who coached Serena Williams and her elder sister Venus during their childhood years, took to X (formerly Twitter) and assessed the Serb's future. Macci recalled a time when players would be mentally overwhelmed at facing the 24-time Grand Slam winner. However, the 70-year-old opined that players now look at the Serb differently.

"This year will 100% set the table for the future with the Joker. As he loses to players he used to squish like a Bug others now think different as in the past they already mentally lost just in awe of the Serbian Mug. @DjokerNole," Macci wrote.

"I've been struggling" - Novak Djokovic on form woes after shocking Indian Wells 2025 exit

Novak Djokovic (Source: Getty)

In the aftermath of his recent elimination from the Masters 1000 event at Indian Wells, Novak Djokovic shared a brutally honest assessment of his on-court inconsistencies since the start of the 2024 season.

"You know, things are different obviously for me the last couple of years. I've been struggling to play on the desired level. Every now and then, I have couple good tournaments, but mostly it's really a challenge. It's a struggle for me," the Serb told reporters during a post-match press conference.

The 37-year-old hasn't won an ATP Tour-level title since the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals, even though he 'completed tennis' last year after winning the Men's Singles gold medal at the Paris Olympics.