Novak Djokovic attends Winter Olympics opening and reignites Olympic ambitions: “Obviously I have the desire to get there”

Novak Djokovic reiterated his desire to compete one last time at the Olympic Games, after attending the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. The 38-year-old player attended the event together with his family at San Siro Stadium in Milan, to witness the opening ceremony of the Olympic event.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion finished his participation at the Australian Open last week, reaching the final, where he fell in four sets to Carlos Alcaraz. After an exhausting couple of weeks in Melbourne, Nole decided to skip the Davis Cup – in which Serbia visited Chile in South America – and chose to preserve himself physically with his upcoming challenges in mind.

Taking advantage of some family time, Nole made a surprise visit to the opening ceremony of Milano Cortina, where together with his wife Jelena and his children Stefan and Tara, he watched the spectacular ceremony like just another fan. In addition to taking some photos with fans, Djokovic answered a short improvised interview, in which he reiterated his desire to return to an Olympic event.

“It is always nice, Italy of course, people were expecting a show, and we saw a show,” the Serbian commented outside the stadium after the opening of the Winter Olympic Games. “For me it is the first time I am here for a ceremony, for the opening of the Winter Olympics and I am very grateful to experience it with my family.”

While Djokovic was walking outside the stadium – and casually answering some questions from a fan attending the event who crossed paths with the Serbian – he was asked whether he still maintains his desire to attend the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles 2028 – an event for which Nole will already be 41 years old.

“It is far, yes. At this point in my life and career are far from it, but obviously I have the desire to get there,” commented the Paris 2024 gold medallist. “Anyway, you have to think that you are young,” Djokovic added with a smile.

The world No. 3 recently once again showed that he remains fully competitive despite his age. At the Australian Open he arrived with the ambition of fighting for a 25th Grand Slam title, and although he left empty-handed, he delivered a remarkable and confidence-boosting campaign, after eliminating two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner in the semifinals.

Djokovic advanced to the 38th Grand Slam final of his career and faced world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz – who was seeking to finally complete the Career Grand Slam in Melbourne. Although Nole took the lead in the opening set – with an imposing 6–2 – Alcaraz eventually regained control of the match, extending rallies, taking fewer risks and capitalising on being physically fresher against a Djokovic who was coming off a battle of more than four hours against Sinner in the semifinals.

Ultimately, the victory went to Alcaraz by 2–6, 6–2, 6–3, 7–5, and Djokovic once again fell in a Grand Slam final against Alcaraz for the third time (after being defeated in the Wimbledon finals of 2023 and 2024). Even so, he can take positive sensations from the tournament, knowing that he can still get close to another major title and that he has the level to continue dreaming big.

Djokovic finished the tournament ranked as world No. 3 – despite having a much lighter tournament schedule than the rest of the players inside the top 10, and despite focusing his energy primarily on Grand Slam events.

After skipping this week’s Davis Cup qualifiers, Djokovic will return to the courts in one week at the ATP 500 Qatar Open in Doha, where he will once again be joined by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in the main draw and will look to make a strong impression at a tournament he has won twice (2016, 2017). It will be the only event he plays in February, with his next challenge coming at Indian Wells in March.