🔥 HOT NEWS: Djokovic quietly makes a blockbuster call about his 2026 season, sparking wild speculation across the ATP Tour ⚡IH
The entry list for the 2026 Brisbane International has been revealed and Novak Djokovic’s name is missing, which suggests he will stick to his current approach of not playing warm-up matches before Grand Slams.
Djokovic has played one tournament before the Australian Open the past three years as in 2025 he kicked off his season in Brisbane, last year he was part of Serbia’s United Cup team and in 2023 he featured at the Adelaide International.
The 2026 ATP Tour season starts on January 5 with three events – the Brisbane International, United Cup and Hong Kong Open – the former world No 1 appears to have decided not to enter any of those tournaments.
It means he will start the season-opening Grand Slam in Australia without any events under his belt unless he accepts a late wildcard.
The fields for all three events have been confirmed and world No 13 Daniil Medvedev is the highest-ranked player in Brisbane with No 14 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, No 17 Jiri Lehecka and No 20 Tommy Paul also set to play.
Lehecka is the defending champion after Reilly Opelka – who got the better of Djokovic in the quarter-final – retired while 4-1 down in the final.
World No 50 Opelka will also return next year alongside 2024 champion Grigor Dimitrov while rising star Joao Fonseca, Cameron Norrie, Frances Tiafoe and Shanghai Masters champion Valentin Vacherot are also in the draw.
The United Cup will feature the likes of Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Jack Draper and Casper Ruud while Lorenzo Musetti, Alexander Bublik, Andrey Rublev and Karen Kachanov are the big-name players in action in Hong Kong
As for Djokovic, the decision not to play in Brisbane is in line with his strategy to play a reduced schedule with the main focus on the four Grand Slams, the Davis Cup and a few tournaments that he has a special connection with.
The 24-time Grand Slam winner played only 13 tournaments in 2025 as he reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. He also played five ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, one ATP 500 event and three ATP 250 tournaments.
The Brisbane International and Geneva Open were the only warm-up tournaments before Grand Slams this year as the Geneva event was staged just before the French Open.
The Geneva Open and Hellenic Championship – one of the events that he played due to his special connection – were the only two titles he won.
Of course, Djokovic can still opt to play the week before the Australian Open as the Adelaide International and Auckland Open will run from January 12-17 before the hard-court Grand Slam starts on January 18 at Melbourne Park.
But, as things stand, the Serbian appears more likely to reduce his schedule even further and it wouldn’t be a big surprise if he fails to register double digits in terms of events in 2026.
