7 times Novak Djokovic has retired in a Grand Slam ft. Australian Open 2025 shock decision

Novak Djokovic's run at the 2025 Australian Open came to an end after he retired during his semifinal against Alexander Zverev. The Serb's decision to end the match came after the German won a tightly-contested opening set, with the crowd booing him.

This marks just the seventh time that he has been forced to retire during a Grand Slam match during his illustrious career. Djokovic has won a whoppinng 24 Majors so far but there have been a few instances when he could not play the entirety of a match due to fitness issues.

On that note, let us take a look at the seven times when the Serb has had to retire in a Major fixture.

#7. Australian Open 2025 SF

The most recent instance of the Serb retiring during a Grand Slam came at the ongoing Australian Open. Djokovic entered the tournament as the seventh seed and booked his place in the semifinals after wins over Nishesh Basavareddy, Jaime Faria, 26th seed Tomas Machac, 24th seed Jiri Lehecka and third seed Carlos Alcaraz.

The Serb faced some fitness issues during his quarterfinal and these issues looked to have taken its toll on him in the semifinal, as he retired after the first set. The 37-year-old said during his post-match press conference that he suffered a muscle tear and that this year could be his final outing at the Australian Open.

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#6. US Open 2019 4R

Djokovic entered US Open 2019 as the top seed and the defending champion. The Serb was a heavy favorite to win the tournament and booked his place in the fourth round following straight-set wins over Roberto Carballes Baena, Juan Ignacio Londero and Denis Kudla.

Here, he faced 23rd seed Stan Wawrinka and the latter took a two-set lead after taking the first two sets 6-4, 7-5. The Swiss led 2-1 in the third set before Djokovic was forced to retire due to a left shoulder injury.

While the Serb was booed by the crowd after his retirement, he did not blame them for their behavior.

“Obviously they came to see a full match, and just wasn’t to be. I mean, a lot of people didn’t know what’s happening, so you cannot blame them," the then-World No. 1 said, as quoted by Guardian.

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#5. Wimbledon 2017 QF

2017 was a far from successful year for Novak Djokovic and his best performance at Grand Slams was quarterfinal appearances at the French Open and Wimbledon.

The Serb was seeded second at the grass-court Major and booked his place in the quarterfinals with wins over Martin Klizan, Adam Pavlasek, Ernests Gulbis and Adrian Mannarino.

Here, he was up against 11th seed and 2010 runner-up Tomas Berdych, and lost his first set of the tournament. The Czech led 2-0 in the second set before Djokovic retired due to an elbow injury. This is the very same issue that would bother him for a while before he underwent surgery in 2018 and returned to his very best.

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#4. Australian Open 2009 QF

Novak Djokovic won his first Grand Slam at the 2008 Australian Open and his title defense started brilliantly, as he registered straight-set wins over Italian qualifier Andrea Stoppini and Jeremy Chardy. The Serb then bagged four-set wins over Amer Delic and Marcos Baghdatis to book his place in the quarterfinals.

Here, he faced seventh seed Andy Roddick and won the opening set via a tiebreak. The American, however, bounced back and took the next two sets 6-4, 6-2 to take the lead in the match.

Roddick took a 2-1 lead in the fourth set before Djokovic was forced to retire due to heat stress.

"The main reason is cramping and soreness in the whole body. I think the people could see that I was struggling with movement. I really tried my best but sometimes you can't fight against your own body," the Serb said about his retirement.

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#3. Wimbledon 2007 SF

2007 was the year when Djokovic well and truly established himself as one of the best tennis players in the world. The Serb entered the Top 10 of the ATP rankings and later, the Top 5 after a string of impressive performances that included winning his maiden Masters 1000 event at the Miami Open.

Djokovic entered that year's Wimbledon championships as the fourth seed and started his tournament with a straight-set win over Potito Starace. The then-20-year-old then registered four-set wins over Amer Delic, Nicolas Keifer and 16th seed Lleyton Hewitt to book his place in the quarterfinals.

Here, the Serb faced tenth seed Marcos Baghdatis and edged him 7-6(4), 7-6(9), 6-7(3), 4-6, 7-5 to reach his maiden Wimbledon semifinal. He faced Rafael Nadal and took the first set 6-3. However, the Spaniard took the second set 6-1 and led 4-1 in the third before Djokovic retired due to elbow issues.

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#2. French Open 2006 QF

French Open 2006 was the first Grand Slam where Djokovic had a notable outing. The then-teenager was unseeded at the tournament and reached the third round after wins over Luis Horna and ninth seed Fernando Gonzalez. He then registered straight-set wins over Tommy Haas and Gael Monfils to reach his maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Here, the Serb faced defending champion Rafael Nadal in what would be the first meeting of what has become an iconic tennis rivalry. The Spaniard won the first two sets 6-4, 6-4 within two hours, after which, Djokovic retired due to an injury.

It was after this match that the then-teenager said in a press conference that Nadal was beatable on clay.

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#1. French Open 2005 QF

Djokovic's first appearance at the French Open came in 2005, when he qualified for the main draw. The Serb thrashed Robby Ginepri 6-0, 6-0, 6-3 to register his first victory at a Grand Slam. This win set up a second-round clash with eighth seed Guillermo Coria, who had reached the Roland Garros final the previous year, and was one of the top players on clay at the time.

The then-teenager was the underdog but he started the match brilliantly by taking the first set 6-4. However, Coria took the second set 6-2 and led 3-2 in the third before the Serb retired on what was a hot day in Paris.