🔥 HOT NEWS: From torn muscles to career-threatening setbacks, Novak Djokovic’s journey shows how he continues to overcome every injury in his path ⚡IH

Novak Djokovic Injury History – When people talk about Novak Djokovic, they usually talk about records: Grand Slams, weeks at No.1, year-end titles. What often gets overlooked is how rarely he’s actually been taken out by his body. For a guy who’s been grinding at the top since 2007, Djokovic has had surprisingly few serious injuries – but the ones he’s had have shaped his career, his schedule and the way he talks about the future.

This is the story behind the headline: Novak Djokovic injury – what he’s dealt with, which tournaments he’s had to abandon, and how he’s managed to keep coming back.

Big Picture: An Exceptionally Durable Champion

By his own admission, Djokovic has been “lucky” with injuries. In a 2023 interview he pointed out that he has had just one major injury that required surgery – the right-elbow problem that peaked in 2017 and led to an operation in early 2018. Apart from that, he says he’s dealt mostly with “minor injuries” that he and his team have managed with prevention, recovery and smart scheduling. 

That’s remarkable for a player who’s spent more than 15 years at the physical red line of men’s tennis. But “minor” doesn’t mean painless. From his elbow to a torn meniscus to hamstring and shoulder issues, Djokovic’s body has taken a beating – and it’s started to show more often as he’s moved into his late 30s.

The Elbow: Injury That Stopped a Streak

The turning point in the Djokovic injury story is the right elbow.

• He first began to feel chronic pain in the elbow around 2016, and it worsened throughout the 2017 season. 
• At Wimbledon 2017 he retired from his quarterfinal against Tomáš Berdych because he “could not serve” anymore, later saying he had essentially “killed all [his] pain sensors” before finally accepting he needed a break [1]. 
• A few weeks later he announced he would miss the rest of the 2017 season [2], including the US Open, to let the joint heal – ending a run of 51 consecutive Grand Slam appearances stretching back to 2005. 

In February 2018, after conservative treatment failed, Djokovic went ahead with elbow surgery. 

He has since described that operation as one of the most emotional low points of his career, saying he cried after the first surgery because he’d spent years trying to avoid it and strongly believed in prevention. 

Weeks missed:

From mid-July 2017 (Wimbledon) to January 2018, Djokovic was off the tour for roughly six months, the longest injury break of his career.

The Knee: Torn Meniscus at Roland-Garros 2024

The next big chapter in the “Novak Djokovic injury” file came at the 2024 French Open.

In a grinding fourth-round match against Francisco Cerúndolo, Djokovic slipped several times on a damp court and hurt his right knee. He still managed to win in five sets, but an MRI the next day showed a torn medial meniscus. 

He was forced to withdraw from his quarterfinal against Casper Ruud, ending his title defence and costing him the No.1 ranking. Tournament officials confirmed the meniscus tear; Djokovic later explained that he felt it during the Cerúndolo match and played through with painkillers before deciding he couldn’t continue. 

He underwent knee surgery shortly afterwards but still raced back in time to play Wimbledon that summer.

Weeks missed:

The meniscus injury effectively wiped out the rest of his clay season and most of his pre-Wimbledon preparation – roughly four to six weeks of competition.

The Hamstring: Playing (and Winning) Through a Tear

Novak Djokovic Injury – Djokovic’s reputation for playing through pain was underlined at the 2023 Australian Open.

Tournament director Craig Tiley revealed afterwards that Djokovic won the title while carrying a 3cm hamstring tear, an injury that had some commentators openly doubting its severity until scans and officials confirmed it. 

He managed the problem with heavy strapping, physio and painkillers, then rolled through the draw to claim his 10th Australian Open crown, a win he later said required one of the most disciplined physical and mental efforts of his career.

At the 2025 Australian Open, a similar story played out but ended differently. Djokovic strained his groin/hamstring region during a quarterfinal win over Carlos Alcaraz, then stepped on court for the semi-final against Alexander Zverev with his leg heavily taped. After losing a tight first set, the pain became too much and he retired from the match, later revealing he had a torn muscle in his upper left leg. 

It was his seventh mid-match retirement at a Grand Slam. 

The Shoulder & Other Issues

As he’s pushed toward 40, more niggles have emerged.

In late 2025, after winning the Hellenic Championship in Athens, Djokovic announced he was withdrawing from the ATP Finals due to a shoulder injury that had been bothering him all week. He said he had needed strong medication just to compete and that the problem worsened in the final. 

In earlier years he’s also dealt with:

• Back issues (notably around 2011)
• Wrist and elbow problems in 2016
• Occasional blisters and heat-related exhaustion early in his career 

But compared to many peers, those problems have been short-lived; they rarely kept him out for months.

Grand Slam Retirements: When His Body Has Said “Stop”

Novak Djokovic Injury – Despite his ironman reputation, Djokovic has retired mid-match seven times at Grand Slams as of the 2025 Australian Open. 

Those retirements include:

• Roland-Garros 2005 (vs Guillermo Coria) – breathing/fitness issues
• Roland-Garros 2006 (vs Rafael Nadal) – back pain
• Wimbledon 2017 (vs Tomáš Berdych) – right elbow injury
• US Open 2019 (vs Stan Wawrinka) – left shoulder
• And most recently the 2025 Australian Open semi-final vs Zverev – torn leg muscle

Given he’s played more than 70 Grand Slam main draws, that retirement count is actually low. But each incident has re-ignited debates about whether he’s finally reaching a physical cliff.

How He Tries to Avoid Injury in the First Place

Djokovic often says his longevity is not just luck – it’s a product of how he lives. He points to several pillars:

• Meticulous warm-up and recovery routines
• A strict gluten-free, mostly plant-based diet that he believes reduces inflammation and boosts energy
• Emphasis on sleep, breathing work, stretching and mobility
• Carefully planned schedules once he reached his mid-30s, focusing on Slams and a limited number of ATP events

He’s spoken repeatedly about believing in prevention, saying he’ll do anything to reduce the chance of “another elbow situation”. 

The result? For most of his career, he’s avoided the catastrophic ligament ruptures or repeated surgeries that have hit many stars.

Injuries, Reputation & the Future

Every time Djokovic pulls up with a niggle – or plays through obvious pain – social media fills with two kinds of reactions: admiration and scepticism. The 2023 hamstring episode, and even his 2025 Australian Open retirement (after fans paid big money hoping to see a full match), sparked both sympathy and accusations that he dramatises minor issues. 

But recent years have made one thing clear: his body is starting to push back. The meniscus tear, recurring hamstring problems and the 2025 shoulder withdrawal all suggest that the mileage of two decades on tour is catching up, even with elite recovery habits.

Where does that leave the “Novak Djokovic injury” narrative going forward?

• He’s still capable of winning majors when healthy.
• His team will likely keep cherry-picking events and shortening seasons.
• Any new injury – especially to the knee or elbow – will immediately fuel retirement speculation.

For now, Djokovic insists he’ll keep playing as long as he feels competitive and motivated. But in his late 30s, every slip, strain and taped-up joint feels a little more significant than it did ten years ago.

If anything, his injury story doesn’t make his record look weaker. It makes it more human – and makes every comeback, every deep Slam run after a setback, feel even more improbable.

If you enjoyed this article, you might enjoy my article on the Novak Djokovic Diet.