Jim Courier Says No Final Word Whether Novak Djokovic Will Play ATP Finals

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 10: Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates after a point against Daniil ... [+] Medvedev of Russia during their Men's Singles Final match on Day Fourteen of the 2023 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 10, 2023 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

With pictures of Novak Djokovic sunning himself on the beaches of the Maldives making the rounds, it appears unlikely that the 24-time Grand Slam champion will play at next week’s ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.

But Jim Courier says nothing is official yet.

“Will Djokovic post, we don’t know if he’s going to,” Courier said on Tennis Channel after Alexander Zverev beat Ugo Humbert 6-2, 6-2, to win the Paris Masters title.

“We’ve seen pictures on social media of him at the beach with his family in the Maldives, a long, long way from Italy. So we’ll see if he’s going to lace them up. We don’t know. We do know that whoever is No. 9 in the race is going to want him not to so they get into Torino as a player, not an alternate.”

Djokovic, who failed to win a Grand Slam title in 2024 and then skipped the Paris Indoors, is ranked sixth in the ATP Race to Turin and No. 5 in the world.

Andrey Rublev is No. 9 in the Race to Turin and would get into the eight-man field if Djokovic opts out. The event runs Nov. 10-17.

The winner of that event will take home $4,881,100 if they go undefeated and $2,237,200 if they win but don’t go unbeaten.

“Torino is not my goal at all, to be honest, I am not chasing ATP Finals, I am not chasing the rankings,” said Djokovic after playing for Serbia in the Davis Cup in September.

“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 the national team and slams, everything else is less important.”

Djokovic is 37-9 this season and Patrick McEnroe says he doesn’t think the Serb will play Turin.

“I can see him going either way,” ESPN’s Patrick McEnroe said via text. “He has an unreal record in that event [ATP Finals]. My gut is he does not play rest of year.”

Winning a record 25th major remains a priority for the Serb, with the Australian Open set for January.

“I still want to make more history and enjoy myself on the tour,” he said in August ahead of the U.S. Open, where he was upset in the third round by Alexei Popyrin. “I still hope to inspire many young people to watch tennis, play tennis.

“Those are some of the reasons why I still keep on going. Grand Slams are the pillars of our sport. They are ‘the’ most important historical tennis events that we have. So if you don't get pumped and inspired to play your best tennis at Grand Slams, it's hard to do that anywhere else.”

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