Novak Djokovic will not defend his title at the ATP Finals after withdrawing from the event on Tuesday due to an unspecified injury.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion issued a statement on social media confirming he will not be playing in Turin. It is the first time he has missed the event since 2017 when ended his season early due to injury. Djokovic last played at the Shangai Masters where he reached the final before losing in straight sets to Jannik Sinner. He recently also pulled out of the Paris Masters.
“It’s quite an honor to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. I was really looking forward to being there but due to ongoing injury, I won’t be playing next week,” Djokovic wrote in a statement published on Instagram.
“Apologises to those who were planning to see me. Wishing all the players a great tournament.”
Djokovic is the most decorated player in ATP Finals history with seven titles to his name, including the past two years. It is only the second time he has missed the Finals since making his debut in 2007. So far in his career, he has a win-loss record of 50-18 at the event.
As a result of his withdrawal, Djokovic’s season has come to a close with his only title triumph being at the Paris Olympic Games. It is the first time in seven years that he has ended a season with a Grand Slam title of any sort. Although he was a runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon. He has won 37 out of 46 matches played since January.
Sinner and Alexander Zverev will be the top two seeds at this year’s ATP Finals. The six other players who have qualified are Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, Alex de Minaur and Andrey Rublev. Grigor Dimitrov and Stefanos Tsitsipas are both alternates and will only play if any of the eight qualifiers withdraws.
The ATP Finals will begin on November 10th.
