Novak Djokovic Injury: What led to Serb's heartbreaking loss at his last tournament in light of ATP Finals withdrawal

Novak Djokovic was last seen competing in the Shanghai Masters and the Six Kings Slam, where he continued to have trouble with his knee injury. The Serb registered a runner-up finish in Shanghai, but still felt uncertain about his left knee.

Djokovic recently announced his withdrawal from the ATP Finals despite being the defending champion in Turin. He qualified for the year-end championships in seventh place but Andrey Rublev will take his spot next week.

The 37-year-old announced via social media that he has been nursing an 'ongoing injury' and felt gutted to miss out at the event.

"It’s quite an honor to qualify for the @nittoatpfinals in Turin. I was really looking forward to being there, but due to ongoing injury I won’t be playing next week. Apologies to those who were planning to see me. Wishing all the players a great tournament. See you soon," Djokovic said.

Novak Djokovic provides an update via Instagram - Image Source - Novak Djokovic Instagram

While specualtion grew among fans as to what exactly is the injury highlighted by Djokovic, it is most likely that he has issues with his knee. The Serb mentioned about feeling strange with his left knee in Shanghai after his quarterfinal win against Jakub Mensik and hoped that it wouldn't lead to anything more definitive as his right knee.

"Yeah, I mean, it's a strange feeling, to be honest, those couple of points in that game, but after that it was fine. So, hopefully when it cools down I'm not going to have any troubles with it, because I already have troubles with the right knee, so it wouldn't be great. Yeah, let's see what tomorrow brings," Djokovic said

The former World No. 1 again spoke about the niggle following his semifinal win against Fritz and couldn't confirm a complete recovery.

"Yesterday you said your knee was, your left knee was hurting, was tonight a different issue or the same issue?" the interviewer asked

"Yeah, it was a little bit different, but, again, both are not concerning me at the moment, knowing that I went through and finished the match, both yesterday and today, so good news," Novak Djokovic replied

"I mean, it was the first time I had faced this kind of particular knee injury"- Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic in the Six Kings Slam 2024 - Source: Getty

Novak Djokovic sustained a major knee injury in the French Open, which forced him to withdraw from the quarterfinals against Casper Ruud. He required surgery to recover from the issue before making his return to the Wimbledon Championships in June.

During an interview at the SW19, Djokovic spoke about dealing with a major knee injury for the first time in his career. He mentioned how it was necessary to go ahead with surgery and detailed his appraoch towards recovery.

"Well, right at the top. Maybe 2 or 3 in terms of the time required for me to come back to the desired level," Novak Djokovic said (timestamp — 2:00). "I mean, it was the first time I had faced this kind of particular knee injury. Never had any major knee injury. I tore my meniscus, and a part of it had to be taken out as it's not where it's supposed to be."

"Because I was actually advising myself with all the orthopedic doctors around the world that I know. They all said the same thing, for once unanimous in their opinion, that it has to be operated, and that the recovery time will be much quicker," he added.

Despite surgery after his quarterfinal finish in Paris, Djokovic reached the finals in Wimbledon and settled for a runner-up finish against Carlos Alcaraz. With the men's calendar year almost coming to a close, it is most likely that we witness the Serb back in action at the 2025 Australian Open. He reached the semifinals in Melbourne this year, where he lost to Jannik Sinner in four-sets.