2014 French Open semifinalist Andrea Petkovic and former five-time Grand Slam doubles champion Rennae Stubbs think there are definitely double standards involved in how Novak Djokovic gets treated for playing so little in 2024 as they believe Serena Williams would be bashed and that would be used to make negative narratives about women’s tennis.
This past season, the 37-year-old appeared in just 12 tournaments and had the most limited schedule of his career, considering that the only injury he battled was the one sustained at the French Open. Throughout the year, the Serb was fixating his schedule and that resulted in him missing some of the biggest events – he didn’t play at the Masters events in Miami, Madrid, Montreal, Cincinnati, Paris, as well as the ATP Finals.
For some, it wasn’t surprising because Djokovic didn’t hide that his main focus and goal was to be at his best at the Paris Olympics. And in the end, he succeeded in that goal – won his first Olympic gold medal in Paris – and completed his resume. However, it was his first and lone title of the year.
After the Paris Olympics which ended in early August, the world No. 7 played just two tournaments on the main level – the US Open and the Shanghai Masters.
“Just to think about Serena doing the same thing, only 12 events. Imagine, put yourself in the same situation, Serena only playing 12 events, not winning a title for the first time and forever and winning the gold medal but it doesn’t count into the ranking points of the ATP Tour and she makes to WTA Finals. What do you think the media would say?” Petkovic said on the Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast.
The Australian tennis legend added: “They would be losing their mind,” before the former German tennis star continued: “They would call out women’s tennis, ‘How can Serena make it?’ and so on. So that’s all I am saying.”
Andrea Petkovic© YouTube screenshot
Djokovic was brutally honest about his schedule and plans
Following his Olympic triumph, the former world No. 1 didn’t play any tournaments leading up to the US Open. And it resulted in him not being anywhere near his best level in New York and suffering a shock third-round loss to Alexei Popyrin.
After the US Open exit, Djokovic very openly indicated that he could very easily miss the Paris Masters and also the season-ending tournament. And not only that, the 37-year-old hinted that having a 2024-like schedule in 2025 was also a big possibility.
“Torino is not my goal at all, to be honest, I am not chasing ATP Finals, I am not chasing the rankings. As far as I am concerned, I am done with those tournaments for my career. Whether I will play in other tournaments this year or in the future, I can’t say right now. My main priorities are playing for Serbia and Slams, everything else is less important,” Djokovic told Serbian reporters in mid-September.
“After that [Shanghai], I am going to see what I am going to do. Usually in my career I used to have my schedule ready six months in advance, but nowadays that’s not the case, now it’s more spontaneous. Firstly, I need to physically, emotionally and mentally rest in order to even start thinking what I want to do next, in what way, how much and where.”
Djokovic© Djokovic Facebook/Fair Use
Djokovic confirmed he was serious in his intentions
After finishing as runner-up to Jannik Sinner in the Shanghai Masters final in mid-October, the Serbian tennis star announced in late October that he would not defend his title at the Paris Masters without offering much explanation.
10 days later, Djokovic confirmed the same decision regarding the ATP Finals. But this time, he claimed there was an injury that forced him to do so.
“I was really looking forward to being there, but due to ongoing injury I won’t be playing next week. Apologies to those who were planning to see me. Wishing all the players a great tournament. See you soon!” he wrote on Instagram at the time.
However, not playing much in 2024 doesn’t mean that the record 24-time Grand Slam champion isn’t serious about tennis anymore.
“Tennis is still my focus! I am going at full throttle in the off-season, we go for another ride. I just needed to recharge and refresh a bit after an exhausting year. I told you guys that a million times. The Slams of course, and I would like to play the Davis Cup as well, we’ll see what happens with that,” Djokovic highlighted in Belgrade earlier this month.
Meanwhile, the Serb dropped a bomshell last week when he revealed that he would be accompanied by Andy Murray during the 2025 Australian Open.
Tennis World USA