Serbian Novak Djokovic, the seventh seed, shocked everyone during the press conference following his injury-forced withdrawal from the Australian Open semifinals by hinting at a potential retirement from professional tennis.

“Yes, it could be. If I had won the first set, maybe I would’ve tried. I don’t know, maybe a few more games. Things were just getting worse,” said the 10-time Australian Open champion when asked if he could have continued his semifinal match against Alexander Zverev.

“I hadn’t hit a ball since the match with Alcaraz until about an hour before today’s match. I did everything I could to manage the muscle tear I suffered—medications, physiotherapy, taping—it all helped, but today it only worked up to a point. Toward the end of the first set, I started feeling more and more pain,” the Serbian added, admitting uncertainty about whether he will compete in the Australian Open again.

Is retirement on the horizon?

“There’s a chance this might have been my last one (match). Who knows? I’ll have to see how the season unfolds. I want to keep going,” said Djokovic, who also fell in the semifinals during last year’s tournament.

The Belgrade native also couldn’t confirm if his partnership with British coach Andy Murray would continue.

“I don’t know. Right now, we’re disappointed with what just happened; we haven’t discussed the future yet. We’ve just come off the court. I’ll talk to Andy, thank him for being here with me, and share my thoughts. We’ll see how he feels, and then we’ll decide on the next step,” Djokovic explained.

“I’m not sure why I’ve been injured so often in recent years. Maybe it’s a combination of factors. I’ll keep pushing forward and striving to win more Grand Slams. As long as I feel I can handle this, I’ll be here,” concluded Djokovic, who achieved the Golden Slam with his Olympic gold medal at the 2024 Paris Games after defeating Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in the final.