Novak Djokovic Reportedly Set To Miss 'A Couple Of Months' With Injury
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Novak Djokovic's injury from the 2025 Australian Open will likely keep him sidelined for a few months.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion retired from his Australian Open semifinal against Alexander Zverev after the first set with that injury. It was clear he had a problem with his left leg, but no one knew the precise details at that stage.
Djokovic revealed afterward that he had a muscle tear. Stepping onto the court at all with an injury that severe was a stoic effort, but that did not stop him from being booed off the court by some fans, angry that they only got to watch one set.
The tennis legend posted a photo of his MRI scan on social media that showed a large tear in his left hamstring. A tear of that size undoubtedly caused him significant pain as he tried to compete in the semifinal.
ESPN commentator and analyst Chris Fowler reported that it is harder to treat hamstring injuries than many other muscles and believes the Serbian will likely need a couple of months to recover from the problem.
"That’s no joke, that’s a pretty deep tear. That’s in the deepest part of the hamstring and the hamstring is a problem because it’s a big muscle. It’s deep in there, it’s hard to treat it properly. The hamstring doesn’t have great blood flow so it’s harder to treat it than some other muscles."
"You can’t rush a hamstring, you’ve got to be very sure before going back out there. Typically if you’re looking at injuries like that in sports, you’re looking at a couple months."
John McEnroe responded to Fowler by saying Djokovic would be ready for the French Open if the injury takes a couple of months to heal, and that is what matters to him since he only cares about the Grand Slams.
"So he’ll be ready for the French. He said he only cares about majors. Who can blame him at this point?"
That statement from McEnroe is somewhat simplistic. It is true that Djokovic wants to win the four Grand Slams more than other tournaments, and he may not have risked playing with the muscle tear, as he did in the Australian Open semifinal, at lower-level events.
However, at the start of the 2025 season, Djokovic spoke about wanting to play more tournaments than in the previous few years. The former ATP world No. 1, who did not win a Grand Slam last season, thought competing more often would help him stay in a better rhythm.
McEnroe should be careful with his comments about Djokovic after what he said during his Australian Open quarterfinal against Carlos Alcaraz. Djokovic's hamstring injury first appeared in that match, and he took a medical timeout for it.
The American, commentating on the match for ESPN, dismissed the possibility that Djokovic was injured, telling fans not to be fooled and that he had done a similar "routine" many times before.
Djokovic's MRI scan, which he posted as a direct response to those questioning the severity of the injury, proved that McEnroe and others were entirely wrong.
