A 'good sign' and an off-season 'rebuild': How Novak Djokovic is shaping up for Australian Open as he targets 25th Grand Slam title
Published 12/01/2026 at 17:31 GMT
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Winning a record 25th Grand Slam title appears Novak Djokovic's major ambition for the 2026 season - but can he overhaul Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner? Djokovic, 38, starts his season at the Australian Open, live on TNT Sports and discovery+, having not played since November, but hoping to benefit from his work on an off-season body "rebuild".
Novak Djokovic
Image credit: Getty Images
Novak Djokovic heads into the 2026 Australian Open on the back of a title win in the last tournament he played.
But that tournament - in Athens - was over two months ago, and is the only competitive tennis Djokovic has played since early October 2025.
He started the new year by withdrawing from Adelaide, saying he was not "physically ready to compete" - so will he be ready for a crack at a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title in Melbourne?
Off-season 'rebuild'
The 2025 season made clear the new status quo in men’s tennis.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are the outstanding pair - as shown by sharing the last eight Grand Slam titles between them - and Djokovic, even after turning 38 last May, is the leader of the challenging pack.
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Tweener magic features in early contender for point of Australian Open
Video credit: TNT Sports
But the gap between the top two and the rest is large.
In terms of ranking points there are over 6,000 between world No. 2 Sinner and world No. 3 Alexander Zverev.
But there is also a gulf in class on the court.
In the three Grand Slams semi-finals that Djokovic played last season (two against Sinner and one against Alcaraz) he didn’t win a set.
In four meetings with Sinner since the start of 2024 Djokovic has won just one set.
He has not been helped by injury issues which hampered him throughout the 2025 season, and saw him admit that five-set matches against Alcaraz and Sinner were a severe test.
"They're just too good, playing on a really high level," Djokovic said after losing to Alcaraz in the US Open semis.
"Best of five makes it very, very difficult for me to play them - particularly if it's the end stages of the Grand Slam."
In a bid to close the gap, Djokovic has been working on "rebuilding" his body over the off-season.
"I'm taking a short break and trying to reconstruct my machine, so to say, in racing terminology," he said in November.
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Alcaraz trains in Lakers jersey ahead of Australian Open tilt
Video credit: SNTV
"I've been getting injured more often than not in the last 18 months, so I'm trying to rebuild my body, so the start of the next season will be great and, hopefully, I can keep up with the best guys."
Djokovic’s fitness regime has included the use of a Regenesis recovery pod, which is a capsule designed to help his body recover quickly.
"It is a multi-sensory wellness capsule pod that resets your batteries in the shortest amount of time, which is eight minutes," Djokovic has explained about the pod.
But will physical improvement be enough for Djokovic to win in Melbourne?
Djokovic’s Adelaide withdrawal a ‘good sign’
This time last year Djokovic had Andy Murray as his coach and started his season by reaching the quarter-finals in Brisbane.
He went on to beat Alcaraz at the Australian Open but then had to withdraw from the semi-finals due to injury.
In 2026, he will head into the first Grand Slam of the year without any competitive match practice - and former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash thinks Djokovic could run into a "familiar problem" at the Australian Open.
"Has he played enough matches? Has he trained hard enough? Is he saving his body just for the matches? And if so, will that work?" he said to Tennis365.
"I don’t see him beating Alcaraz and Sinner in back-to-back five-set matches and that’s his problem. He can get to the semi-final again, but then he is likely to have a familiar problem."
Djokovic is a 10-time champion in Melbourne and has not lost before the semis since 2018.
If he is to lift a 25th Grand Slam title and break a tie with Margaret Court for the most majors in history it seems most likely he will achieve it at the Australian Open or Wimbledon.
Patrick Mouratoglou says he is "not worried" by Djokovic’s withdrawal from Adelaide ahead of the first major of the season.
"You have to remember that it’s a five-set event and at his age, it’s even more difficult to win a Grand Slam, of course, because of Sinner and Alcaraz, but also because it’s challenging on the physical side," Serena Williams’ former coach Mouratoglou said on Instagram.
"He needs to be fully ready to play seven matches, potentially in five sets. And another reason not to worry about Novak. Last year, he made the semi-finals of the four grand slams at 38 years old.
"The last tournament he played, yes, it was an ATP 250, but he won it. To think that it’s the end because he just doesn’t play the tournaments he planned to play before a Grand Slam because he wants to be more ready for it? I take it as a good sign."
Djokovic to hit practice courts
Djokovic arrived in Melbourne early this week having spent time preparing for the Australian Open in Dubai.
According to reports he will have his first hit on Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday, January 13.
He will then take part in an Opening Week Showdown match against France Tiafoe on Thursday, January 15.
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Novak Djokovic
Image credit: Getty Images
The draw for the singles will also take place on Thursday as Djokovic learns his potential route to glory.
Djokovic will be the fourth seed in the draw which means he can only meet Alcaraz and Sinner from the semi-finals onwards.
Last year Djokovic was seeded seventh and had to face Alcaraz in the quarters.
World No. 1 Alcaraz is the top seed ahead of Sinner and Zverev.
How to watch the 2026 Australian Open
All the action from Melbourne will be available live and on-demand via TNT Sports and its streaming platform, discovery+.
TNT Sports is available across all major TV platforms, offering a line-up of up to four TV channels (TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports 3, TNT Sports 4), up to six digital or red-button channels (TNT Sports 5 to 10), and TNT Sports Ultimate plus TNT Sports Box Office HD.
The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports and entertainment in one destination.
You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.
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