Novak Djokovic on court for just 12 minutes before being forced off in seismic injury concern ahead of Australian Open

Novak Djokovic is set to return to the Australian Open as he once more commences his quest for a 25th Grand Slam title. There have been concerns surrounding his fitness linked to his age, and these questions have been met with some concerning answers from the Serbian after he only lasted 12 minutes in his second practice session in Melbourne.

The 38-year-old has not stepped foot on the tennis court since the Hellenic Championships, in which he defeated Lorenzo Musetti in the final to win his second title of 2025. He would not participate in the following ATP Finals due to him not being 100% fit for the event, as he called an end to his 2025 season earlier than he would have hoped.

He was shortlisted for the ongoing Adelaide International, which would have been his only preparation for the Grand Slam. However, he pulled out of it with him deciding to preserve his body for the Australian Open. This has been the trend in recent years, with Djokovic opting to skip a number of events no matter the prestige to focus on the major tournaments. An example is between Wimbledon and the US Open when he opted against participating in the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open. This situation differs with less time in between his last event, and this may have shown with his recent venture onto the court.

Djokovic returned to the court in Australian Open fan week, arriving in Australia on Monday. He was not a part of the very popular One Point Slam. He began the day by having a training session with Czech number two Jiri Lehecka before taking to the court with Daniil Medvedev, in a repeat of the 2021 final in which Djokovic won his ninth title at Melbourne Park.

Unfortunately, this lasted only 12 minutes. He was forced to halt play due to pain in his neck, receiving treatment from the physio. Before that, he had previously played a practice set with the Russian, losing 7-5. However, onlookers stated that it was not performed at a high intensity, raising more concerns about the condition that he is in.

He did leave the court in good spirits, taking time out of his day to sign items for ecstatic tennis fans around the court while beaming a smile on his face, hiding what possible pain lurks inside.

One of the main motivations for Djokovic to keep going in the sport, despite achieving and winning pretty much every accolade, is to win another Grand Slam or two, putting him firmly ahead of everyone else. He has the most on the ATP Tour, but is currently tied with Margaret Court who also has 24.

Boding by his prior Grand Slam results, it may be a tall order for him to achieve this feat. He has not won a Grand Slam title in the last eight appearances, last lifting silverware in the 2023 US Open. He made the final of every event that year, only losing in the Wimbledon final against an inspired Carlos Alcaraz in a thriller at SW19.

He has only made one final in the prior eight events, and that was another defeat at Wimbledon to the hands of Alcaraz, this time in straight sets. In 2025, he made it to the semi-finals in all four events. While it would be a very good return for most players, that is not the case for the ridiculously high standards Djokovic goes by. He lost to Jannik Sinner in both the Roland Garros and Wimbledon before Alcaraz got the better of him at Flushing Meadows enroute to the title. He did manage to defeat Alcaraz in last year's Australian Open in a brilliant performance, but it was derailed when he retired in the next round against Alexander Zverev.

He is in a race to recover in time for the Australian Open, which takes place from January 18 - February 1.