Novak Djokovic — the living legend of the world tennis village, who has conquered all peaks with 24 Grand Slam titles, is going through the darkest period of his career. The past two years (2024–2025) have become a series of painful days, tearing and testing the physical and mental limits of the Serbian tennis player.

From a resilient warrior, Djokovic now has to constantly fight with his own body. 2024 started with a hamstring injury at the Australian Open, forcing him to play in pain and ending his tournament earlier than expected. Despite trying to return at Roland Garros, the wrist injury relapsed, forcing “Nole” to withdraw just before the quarter-finals — a rare event in a career famous for his perseverance and iron will.

Things got worse in the summer of 2024. Djokovic suffered a right shoulder injury while training for Wimbledon, forcing him to withdraw from the tournament just days before it was due to start. That absence not only left fans disappointed, but also marked a turning point in the decline of a legend once considered “invincible”.

By 2025, Djokovic’s recovery efforts had yet to yield the desired results. Medical experts revealed that his knee cartilage injury had become so severe that he had to consider full surgery. Although the Serbian insisted he would “fight to the end”, all signs showed that his body was gradually betraying that strong will.

In an emotional interview earlier this year, Djokovic shared:

“I’m not afraid of failure, but I’m afraid that I won’t have enough strength to continue playing the tennis I love.”

Those words were like a knife to the hearts of fans – those who have followed him from the early years of conquering Federer and Nadal, to becoming a symbol of resilience.

Experts say that Djokovic is facing the biggest turning point in his career. If his health does not improve, the possibility of him being forced to say goodbye to top tennis is possible within the next year. However, fans still believe in “Nole” – the one who has fallen and stood up many times, the one who always finds light even in the deepest darkness.

Two years of trauma may have taken away his physical strength, but they cannot take away his fighting spirit – the thing that makes Novak Djokovic forever a living legend in the hearts of tennis lovers around the world.