“Takes Your Childhood”- Andre Agassi Warns Novak Djokovic To Retire Soon Amid Struggles With Family Duties

Nearing 40 years of age, Novak Djokovic is constantly surrounded by questions about his potential retirement. Being active for more than two decades, the Serb is at the twilight stage of his illustrious career and tennis legend and the Serb’s former coach, Andre Agassi, had one piece of advice for him at this stage.

“I don’t know when the end will come for Novak, but the one thing I can say is that the end, when it does come always comes fast. I would hope for him that he doesn’t wait for too long, not because he can’t win anymore, but because Tennis takes your childhood,” said Agassi on the Amazon documentary Novak Djokovic, the Wolf in Winter. “But then it gives you a chance to be done with your success so that you can raise your children without the preoccupations.”

Djokovic picked up a racket when he was only four years old, and by the time he was six, he was under the tutelage of Jelena Gencic. The former World No.1 already had his sights set on being the best player at such a young age, but he had to spend most of his childhood on the tennis court, learning and perfecting the basics of the game.

Added that it was the fact that Djokovic was learning the sport when the country was at war, and that the Serb’s family had limited means to support him in tennis, which was a costly sport. All the pressure and external conditions made Djokovic mature beyond his years, with the Serb moving to Germany for advanced training in the sport at age 12.

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However, having accomplished so much, retirement is a tough decision for someone like Djokovic. After beating Carlos Alcaraz at the 2025 Australian Open quarterfinal, the Serb opened up about his internal struggles with continuing to play, and his commitments to his family.

“There are days where I feel like I’m the best. There are days when I am doubting myself a lot. Then I’m questioning whether you know, I can keep up with with the level of the best guys,” said Djokovic in the documentary. “But I cannot be dedicated to tennis 100 percent. It’s not my life anymore. I need to be the husband, the father, I need to be all of the other things.”

Even in 2026, in his late 30s, Djokovic has shown glimpses of being able to still win a 25th Major title, while also showing signs of declining physical powers. At the Australian Open, he beat Jannik Sinner in a five-set thriller and played out the longest quarterfinal match at Wimbledon against Felix Auger-Aliassime.

However, Djokovic has shown that he is no longer the physical force he once was, as evidenced by his struggles in his recent match at the Cincinnati Open. Even the Wimbledon semifinal showed how much of a miracle Melbourne was, as Sinner easily beat the Serb at SW19. The Serb has expressed his desire to play at the 2028 Olympics, but his chances of winning one of the big events are reducing significantly, given the level of the competitors and his reduced physical capacity.

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