"I love to have them, but at the same time the kids cannot live daddy's life" - Novak Djokovic leaves his 'number one fan' at home as he travels to Shanghai

Novak Djokovic is one of the many tennis stars travelling to China to compete in the penultimate Masters 1000 event of the year, the Shanghai Masters. It is an event that he has won four times and is looking to defend his final run from last year. However, he will have to travel to the other side of the world without his biggest fan, his son Stefan.

The Serbian has had to leave his family numerous times for elongated periods as he traverses the globe playing in the biggest tennis tournaments, which he quite often comes out on top in. This year has been no different, missing his daughter's eighth birthday due to competing in the US Open.

Despite this, he has spent more time away from the court in 2025, preserving himself for just the biggest tournaments. The last three tournaments he has competed in are the previous trio of Grand Slams, as he achieved a semi-final in every single one. This means the Shanghai Masters is the first non-major event the 38-year-old has played in since the Geneva Open, where he defeated Hubert Hurkacz in three sets to win his 100th singles ATP tite.

Djokovic revealed that he could not take his son to Shanghai with him, forcing him to go to school instead. “My son, he plays tennis more and so he follows what's going on," he said. "He was really insisting on travelling with me to China. He wants to travel with me everywhere, but he has to do school, and it's not that simple. But he's really in love with tennis and the sport.

“Yeah, my kids and my wife are, you know, my biggest supporters, and obviously when they are in the stadium you've seen them how they support, how passionately they care about and play with me every single point. So, of course, me seeing them on the stands, you know, it's even more inspirational. I love to have them. But at the same time, you know, the kids cannot live daddy's life, they have to live their own life. I try to support them and be there for them. Whether they feel like I have, yeah, they believe in me. They feel like, you know, they look at me as the best always. And so they, when I'm kind of down on myself, they remind me of the things that I have accomplished and why they still believe that I can do it. So their support is very meaningful to me.”

Fortunately for Steffan, he will be hoping to have more opportunities to see his dad play. One of them will be at the Athens Open, the event Djokovic and his family own, which had recently been moved from Belgrade to the Greek capital as Djokovic and his family re-located.

Apart from that, it is a bit of a mystery in which events the 24-time Grand Slam champion will compete at. The Paris Masters is the final 1000 event of the year, with the ATP Finals swiftly following it in Turin. Djokovic has won this title seven times, but has yet to make a decision whether he will challenge for an eighth this year.

“You asked me about Turin. Yeah, it is a tournament where I had quite a bit of success in the last years, I won it two times, and, you know, hopefully I can be back, let's see,” he said. “I don't make plans long-term anymore. I've said that, I said that in New York. So after Shanghai, the only tournament I know I'm going to play is the one in Athens, and then let's see if I play Turin or not, I'm not sure yet.”