"But he is 37 years old": Paris Masters tournament director opens up about possible reason behind Novak Djokovic's withdrawal from competition

Tournament director of the Paris Masters believes that Serbia’s Novak Djokovic’s decision to not play the tournament this year was to ‘manage’ his workload. The 37-year-old is regarded as arguably the greatest player in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category, having won as many as 24 Grand Slam titles.

Djokovic has recently announced that he will not take part in the upcoming Paris Masters. The former world number one’s decision not to feature in the competition was surprising, considering she was the defending champion. However, tournament director Cedric Pioline was recently quoted in a report, where he highlighted that the possible reason behind Djokovic’s decision to withdraw from the competition was to ‘manage’ his workload.

“He is the defending champion,” he said. “But he is 37 years old if I am not mistaken. He has had a complicated year physically since he had a meniscus operation just before Wimbledon. He won the Olympic Games, it is his only title but that was the objective, so objective achieved. I think he has reached a stage in his career where he manages his schedule as his body asks him to manage it.”

Djokovic has had a mixed year on the tennis court. It is the first time in seven years that the former world number one failed to win a single Grand Slam. His best outing in a major competition this year came at Wimbledon, where he lost to Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-2, 7-6. But despite that, Djokovic will remember 2024 for all the right reasons as he finally managed to complete his trophy cabinet. The Belgrade-born won the Olympic gold medal for his country in Paris. He defeated Spain’s Alcaraz in the final of the singles category in straight sets with a score 7-6, 7-6.