Why isn’t Novak Djokovic playing in the 2024 ATP Finals?

The 2024 ATP Finals take place between November 10 and November 17 in Turin, Italy, the season-ending event for the top-ranked players in men’s Tennis, both in singles and doubles. There is, however, one glaring omission from the first of those tournaments: Novak Djokovic.

The Serb, who has won more Grand Slam titles than any other man, qualified for the Finals having finished the season as one of the top eight ranked players.

For the first time since 2017, the 37-year-old didn’t win a major title or an ATP Masters event, which saw him drop down to sixth in the rankings. He did, however, claim the Olympic gold medal, one of the few accomplishments he had previously failed to achieve in Tennis.

The reason Djokovic isn’t playing in the ATP Finals

But Djokovic was unable to take up his place in the ATP Finals because of an unspecified injury. “I was really looking forward to being there, but due to ongoing injury I won’t be playing next week,” he wrote on Instagram last week. “Apologies to those who were planning to see me. Wishing all the players a great tournament. See you soon!”

The veteran star’s last event was the ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai in September, when he lost in the final to world No. 1 Jannik Sinner. Djokovic beat the Italian to win last year’s ATP Finals, which he has won a record seven times.

Who replaced Djokovic in the 2024 ATP Tour Finals?

In his absence, Alex de Minaur, ninth in the rankings, was invited to take part in the tournament. The Australian is in the Ilie Nastase Group with Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and Taylor Fritz, while Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev make up the John Newcombe Group.

After the round-robin is complete, the top two players from each group progress to the semifinals.

When will Novak Djokovic play next?

Djokovic will hope to have regained full fitness in time for the Australian Open, a tournament he has won an incredible 10 times. The 2025 edition will be played between January 13 and January 20 in Melbourne.