From Novak Djokovic upset to 2026 drought: The wildest tennis turnaround

Djokovic is set to return to the Madrid Open after skipping early-season tournaments

Novak Djokovic will be looking for a stronger showing when he returns to the Madrid Open this year.

After missing both the Miami Open and Monte Carlo Masters, Djokovic will try to make his return at the Madrid event.

The Serbian has plenty of positive memories from Madrid, where he’s lifted the trophy three times in his career.

Last year didn’t add to that tally, though, as he exited in the first round after losing his only match of the tournament.

Arnaldi’s form has dipped since Madrid upset over Djokovic

Novak Djokovic went into last year’s Madrid Open still looking for his first win on clay in 2025, having already lost his opening match at the Monte Carlo Masters.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion, seeded fourth, was drawn against Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi, then ranked No. 44 in the world.

It was the first time the two had ever met on tour, and few people saw what was coming. Arnaldi pulled off a straight-sets win over Djokovic, 6-3, 6-4, handing the Serb his worst result in Madrid since 2018.

The Italian then beat Damir Dzumhur and Frances Tiafoe to reach the quarterfinals before his run ended at the hands of Jack Draper.

That run pushed Arnaldi back into the world’s top 40, but he hasn’t managed to hit those same heights again since then.

The 25-year-old has won just eight main draw matches on the ATP Tour since that week in Spain and is still without a victory so far.

While he has won two qualifying matches this year, Arnaldi is yet to win a main draw match on tour this season. He has managed just one set across five defeats so far this year.

Matteo Arnaldi faces an uncertain Madrid Open return

Arnaldi has 200 points to defend at the Madrid Open this year following his quarterfinal run, but he might not feature in the main draw.

After a tough spell of results, Arnaldi has dropped to world number 105 and didn’t gain direct entry into the tournament.

He’ll need to come through qualifying in Madrid, with a significant ranking slide possible if things don’t go his way.

A large chunk of Arnaldi’s ranking points comes from last year’s quarterfinal appearance. Failure to defend any of them could see him fall out of the top 150.

The qualifying draw begins on Monday, April 20th, and Arnaldi will be hoping to tap into some positive memories from last year as he tries to make it back into the main event.

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