Novak Djokovic announced on Wednesday that he will not be participating in the Paris Masters, a tournament where he has been a seven-time champion. This decision might mark the end of his tumultuous season.
"Unfortunately, I won't be playing the Paris Masters this year," the 37-year-old Djokovic shared on Instagram. "I have many wonderful memories, having won seven titles, and I hope to return next year. I apologize to everyone who was looking forward to seeing me there."
As the defending champion in Paris, Djokovic holds a record 40 Masters titles and 24 Grand Slam titles in his career. His 2024 season has been highlighted by one significant achievement—his emotional Olympic gold medal in Paris in August—but he remains stuck on 99 career trophies.
This season has seen Djokovic lose his Grand Slam dominance to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Sinner claimed the Australian and US Open titles and also took Djokovic's world number one ranking. Alcaraz defeated him in the Wimbledon final after succeeding him as French Open champion, although Djokovic avenged this loss by winning against the 21-year-old Spaniard in the Olympic final.
For the first time since 2017, Djokovic will conclude the season without a Grand Slam title. He still has a chance to qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin next month, currently ranking sixth in the race for the eight-man field, but he could be overtaken by several players.
The Paris Masters is scheduled from October 28 to November 3. Djokovic's recent announcement comes after his long-time rival, Rafael Nadal, declared his intention to retire after the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga next month. Despite enduring what he calls "one of the worst-performing seasons in terms of results," Djokovic insists he has no plans to follow Nadal into retirement.
"I don't know what the future holds, I'll just try to go with the flow and see how I feel at any given moment, but I still plan to compete and play next season," Djokovic said after his loss to Sinner in the recent Shanghai Masters final. This loss was his third in his last four matches against the Italian.
Djokovic also mentioned that reaching 100 titles, a milestone achieved only by Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer, is not a life-or-death goal for him. "I think I've achieved all of my biggest goals in my career," he stated. "Right now, it's really about Grand Slams and seeing how far I can push myself."
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