Novak Djokovic confirms career switch plans as Serb makes Sinner and Alcaraz admission

Novak Djokovic outlined his long list of plans after tennis as he admitted he is struggling to keep pace with the likes of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. At 37, the 24-time grand slam winner is still going strong and finally claimed Olympic gold in Paris this summer.

Despite remaining a force in tennis, he has been usurped by young chargers Sinner and Alcaraz, who have split the grand slam victories in 2024. Djokovic was recently well beaten by world number one Sinner in the Shanghai Masters final.

While he is keen to play on for as long as possible – he has ever mentioned playing at the 2028 Olympics when he will be 41 – Djokovic has given plenty of thought to life after top-level tennis. And some of his plans may surprise some people.

Hinting that retirement may not be fair away, he addressed the challenge posed by his younger rivals, confessing via Sportal: “I think I belong to that old guard that maybe can’t handle the youth anymore. Changes are definitely coming, it’s a natural process and it’s been talked about for several years.

“We have young guys now, but we also have a generation that is in between, [Alexander] Zverev, [Daniil] Medvedev, [Stefanos] Tsitsipas. These are all guys who either were or are now in the top 10, Medvedev was number one.

“They will be around for a while with the younger ones. However, I assume you mean Sinner and Alcaraz. Over the last 12 months, the two have developed an incredible rivalry and that’s what’s really catching people’s attention. People may not follow tennis as such, but everyone follows great rivalries.”

Djokovic has a long list of things he wants to achieve post-tennis. On top of his business interests, of which he already has several, he is keen to brush up on his musical and artistic skills, and could even go into acting.

“I am interested in many things,” he said. “I still want to learn to play the saxophone, to really learn. A few years ago I played decently for a while, but then I became bad because I didn’t practice enough and regularly.

“I would like to learn to sing, to play some instruments. Saxophone is number one, but I would like to learn to play the others as well. I would like to learn and act in the theatre, I love the theatre. Theatre above all, but I also like movies.

“I prefer live interaction though. I love comedy and try to pick up some tricks from friends who are actors. I would like to start painting and drawing and making things.”

On his business interests, he added: “I’m also very passionate about things related to health, recovery, I’m interested in sports science, biotechnology… It’s a big list of things that I’m interested in, some of my investments are in those fields and I’m trying in different partnerships to develop brands.

“My team and I try to bring everything together to make a group of strong brands. I would like to expand my brand beyond tennis, beyond philanthropy, into the world of business, wellness and more.”