Novak Djokovic’s first appearance since US Open semi-final loss to Carlos Alcaraz revealed
Published 23/09/2025 at 17:15 GMT+1
Serbian 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic has not played competitively since losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the US Open semi-final. But when could Djokovic return to action? He recently admitted he was not sure how many competitions he would compete in for the rest of the campaign. The 38-year-old is on the hunt for a record 25th Grand Slam title.
Djokovic vows to ‘continue fighting’ after ‘tough’ Alcaraz defeat
Video credit: TNT Sports
Novak Djokovic will play his first competitive tennis since the US Open when he competes at next month’s Shanghai Masters, it has been confirmed.
The four-time champion will return to the court after being knocked out of the US Open semi-final by Carlos Alcaraz in early September.
While Djokovic competed in Shanghai last year, losing to Jannik Sinner in the final, he has played a light schedule this season and admitted after the US Open that he was not sure how many competitions he would compete in for the rest of the campaign.
"It’s really still a question mark where I’m going to go and what I’m going to do," Djokovic said.
There is extra intrigue surrounding the Serbian 24-time Grand Slam winner’s involvement in Shanghai after he admitted that it was difficult at his age to beat the likes of Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz over best-of-five set matches.
"The Grand Slam season… not to say that I will skip Grand Slams," Djokovic continued. "I still want to play a full Grand Slam season next year.
"But I do fancy my chances a bit more in the best-of-three, one-week tournaments or the Masters tournaments, where you have almost two weeks with quite a few days between matches.
"That could serve me better in the match-ups against them."
Djokovic has lost to Sinner and Alcaraz in three of the last four Grand Slams. Meanwhile, at the Australian Open, when he dispatched Alcaraz in the quarter-finals, the 38-year-old suffered a hamstring injury that forced him to retire against Alexander Zverev in the following match.
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A strong performance in Shanghai would see Djokovic enhance his chances of a top-four end of year ranking, which would improve his seeding at January’s Australian Open.
Djokovic, the current world No. 4, is looking to claim a record-breaking 25th major, while he is also within touching distance of equalling his great rival Roger Federer’s tally of 103 professional titles, and nine away from Jimmy Connors’ record of 109.
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