"Once you get to a certain age, you don't bounce back" - Rennae Stubbs concerned about Novak Djokovic's fitness moving forward

As Novak Djokovic approaches the twilight of his career, former tennis pro Rennae Stubbs believes the Serbian superstar may find it more difficult to recover as quickly on the grueling ATP tour.

The former World No.1 was forced to retire during his semifinal bout against Alexander Zverev at the 2025 Australian Open. It was discovered that Djokovic had sustained a hamstring injury, prompting him to take some time off before returning at the Qatar Open the following month.

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Injury risks increase with age, says Stubbs

The 37-year old lost to Matteo Berrettini at the Qatar Open, prompting Stubbs to question if Djokovic's fitness was slowly starting to regress.

"You have to start asking the question – Novak, physically, I know he has had his issues in Australia with the leg, he didn’t look great leaving the Middle East,” she said on the Rennae Stubbs podcast. “He has been struggling with injuries over the last couple of years now, with the knee and the leg and I’m telling you… once you get to a certain age you don’t bounce back. And, yes, Novak has bounced back better than most, better than probably anyone.
"But this is starting to be a bit of an issue now. Not winning matches and then when you haven’t played for a while, then you come back and you’re older.
“I don’t care how much you train and how good you look on the practice court, when you go and play a match, you are pushing yourself more and doing more. You are more nervous, your body is more uptight and he is struggling more and more and more."

The 24-time Grand Slam champion is scheduled to compete at Indian Wells next week.

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