Novak Djokovic has revealed he has a secret health problem, admitting he has been 'struggling' behind the scenes. The Serb's first tournament appearance since being knocked out in the first round of the US Open was granted a stay of execution, as he survived a tiebreak at one set down to defeat Yunchaokete Bu 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2.
Testing year on the court
It has been a testing year on the court for Djokovic, despite starting 2026 with a run to the Australian Open final. The calls for him to retire grew louder after crashing out of the US Open last month, but he appears determined to keep pushing in search of the elusive 25th major title.
With Slam season having come to an end, Djokovic has revealed it was not just his opponents getting the better of him.
Djokovic opens up on health issues
Speaking after the win over Bu, Djokovic admitted to a secret health problem that has been causing him problems all year round. He remarked: “Yeah, I mean, look, I don't want to go into details because then it's going to sound like I'm whining about something or looking for excuses. Truth is that this year has been a big, big struggle for me with few particular issues that I've been having.
“I've been just trying to find different ways to at least get myself in decent condition physically and health-wise to be on the court and compete with the player across the net. If the player beats me, if he's better, great.”
Remaining coy on details
Djokovic will play either Shang Juncheng or two-time Slam champion Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals this weekend. But when pressed for more information on his health problem, the legendary tennis star remained coy: “Most of the matches and tournaments this year that I've played have been a real, real struggle for me physically.
“That's nothing to do with stamina. People mix it up. It's not stamina. It's something else. More related to health. I don't want to be revealing what it is, but I'm trying to get to the bottom of it with my team. Sometimes it works better, sometimes it doesn't. Today, again, for first couple sets.”
Performance and hopes
Meanwhile, on his performance, Djokovic added: “Actually surprisingly something I haven't experienced this year so far, that in the third set I kind of broke through. I felt better. Towards the end of the second and all third set, I felt fresher than I have in the beginning of the match.
“Yeah, I'm just hopeful with all the things obviously that we're doing that I could be in a control decent conditions for the next match and upcoming matches and tournaments. That's all I can say. Of course, it's not fun when you're feeling like that on the court because then I'm investing my emotional, mental energy, and physical of course, more on the issues that I'm having rather than thinking about the game and how I can beat my opponent.”
