Novak Djokovic future plans confirmed after Serb 'uprooted family to new country'

Novak Djokovic's plan for the immediate future has been confirmed after he moved his family to a new home outside of his native Serbia. The tennis icon had been stationed in Belgrade for the entirety of his career but has decided to relocate to a new country. He now lives in Greece, having reportedly uprooted his family to the capital city of Athens.

Djokovic has not played a match since the US Open, where he was comfortably beaten by Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals. He has slipped down the pecking order in recent months and has not won a tournament since prevailing at Flushing Meadows in 2023. His schedule for the rest of the year has been unclear, given that he has been prioritising Grand Slams in recent seasons.

This approach has seen Djokovic pull out of several tournaments in order to preserve his body for the big occasions. However, with no more Grand Slam events until next year's Australian Open, he appears more willing to play on the regular circuit.

He will make his return to action at the upcoming Shanghai Masters, which will get underway at the start of next month. Djokovic is a four-time champion at the ATP 1000 event but was beaten by Jannik Sinner in last year's final.

Djokovic was named on the entry list when it was initially announced, but it was speculated that he had withdrawn when the tournament shared a promotional graphic on social media. It featured dozens of players but the Serb was a notable absentee.

Apart from the Shanghai Masters, the only tournament on Djokovic's list is the upcoming ATP 250 in Athens. Following his US Open exit, he admitted that he did not know what he would be doing between now and the end of the year.

"That's far, Australia is far," he said. "At least at this stage of my career, I mean, I'm not thinking that far, to be honest. I don't know.

"I'm planning to play the Athens tournament, that's for sure, but other than that, it's really still a question mark where I'm going to go and what I'm going to do."

Djokovic could still play at the Paris Masters, which takes place the week before the Athens event in November. He also looks primed to qualify for the year-end ATP Finals, which is played the week after the ATP 250 in Greece.

However, it would not be a surprise if Djokovic decides to skip either tournament, given that he withdrew from both events last year.

At the time, he said: "I am not chasing ATP Finals, I am not chasing the rankings. As far as I'm concerned, I am done with those tournaments for my career. Whether I will play others this year or in the future, I can't say right now.

"My main priorities are playing for the national team and Slams. Everything else is less important. I said a million times how much it means to play for the national team."

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