Novak Djokovic is standing in front of a question that, sooner or later, every athlete has to answer, and that's about his retirement.
The 37-year-old Serbian won everything in tennis. He knows it, and all of the fans know it too. He could retire even today and be happy with his tennis career, but he seemingly doesn't want to.
Although his 2024 season wasn't probably as successful as he would have imagined, Djokovic still has the motivation to compete, and he showed it even recently at the 2024 Six Kings Slam, when he spiritedly battled reigning World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, despite struggling with a right shoulder injury.
Djokovic just wants to push the limits of what seems to be possible, and at the moment, the word retirement doesn't seem to be on his radar, quite the opposite.
Although he completed his last tennis dream this year by winning the Paris Olympics, Grand Slams are still something that motivates the 24-time major winner.
Recently, he sat down with Argentinian publication La Nacion, who wanted to talk to Djokovic mostly because of his involvement in Juan Martin Del Potro's retirement match, which will take place in Argentina in December this year.
During that interview, Djokovic admitted that he still has the driver to continue playing, especially at the Grand Slam stage and in tournaments where he can represent his country, Serbia.
"I feel that I still have in myself more Grand Slams to win. The feeling that I have that I know that I can be a contender to win Grand Slams is what still drivers me to compete, particularly for Grand Slams. And also for my country. I love playing for Serbia."
One question is, where does the 37-year-old find the motivation to continue competing? As he explained in the interview, there are two different sources of motivation for him.
One of those comes from the sheer competitiveness that he has as an athlete, as he wants to continue winning. And the other comes from growing his legacy and his platform as a person.
"When I have to push myself and motivate myself, there are two things: one is still believing that I have the game and capacity to continue fighting for the Grand Slam titles and winning."
"And number two is that tennis is still my biggest platform to do other things that I care about and share the messages that I care about, whether it's related to tennis, society, some entrepreneurship, whatever it is, something that builds my legacy, my brand."
Djokovic admitted that he's hearing voices from both camps that said something about his future retirement. There are those who think that he should retire now when he's still at the height of his tennis career.
Others persuade him to continue playing and try to win at least one more Grand Slam title, and for now, the 99-time ATP Tour-level titlist has the desire to continue competing.
"Some people think I should leave tennis on a high: 'You won gold, you won everything, say goodbye.' Some people think I should keep going as long as I think I can be the favorite for a Grand Slam. I'm more on the second side."
Still, Djokovic admits that being away from his family is becoming more difficult every day, but he also has bad news for those who want him to retire, and that's that he won't do that anytime soon.
"Maybe this is gonna change, I don’t know. Right now, I feel like I want to keep going. How long? It's becoming more difficult for me to travel and always find motivation is becoming more difficult for me."
"It’s definitely not easy, with kinds, I don’t want to be away from home so much, but I still feel the drive. So, unfortunately for the ones that want to retire me, they still have to see me play for a little bit more."
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