Novak Djokovic announced on Wednesday that he will not participate in the Paris Masters, a tournament where he has claimed victory seven times, potentially marking the conclusion of a tumultuous season.
“Unfortunately, I won’t be playing in the Paris Masters this year,” the 37-year-old Djokovic shared on Instagram. “I have so many wonderful memories from this event, having won seven titles, and I hope to return next year. I apologize to everyone who was looking forward to seeing me compete.”
As the defending champion in Paris, Djokovic boasts an impressive record of 40 Masters titles and 24 Grand Slam titles throughout his illustrious career.
His 2024 season has yielded one title – his emotional Olympic gold medal in Paris in August – and he is currently marooned on 99 career trophies.
This season, he has been deposed as Grand Slam king by Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
Italy's Sinner claimed the Australian and U.S. Open titles and also snatched Djokovic's world No. 1 ranking.
Alcaraz swept him off the court in the Wimbledon final after succeeding him as French Open champion, although Djokovic gained a measure of revenge with victory over the 21-year-old Spaniard in the Olympic final.
For the first time since 2017, Djokovic will end the season without a Grand Slam title.
He is still in contention to qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin next month.
He is currently sixth in the race for the eight-man field for the showcase but could be overtaken by several players.
This year's Paris Masters takes place from Oct. 28 to Nov. 3.
Djokovic has recently seen his longtime rival Rafael Nadal announce his intention to retire from tennis after the Davis Cup Finals in Málaga next month.
However, the Serb insists he has no intention of following the 38-year-old Spaniard to the exit door despite enduring, by his own admission, “one of the worst-performing seasons in terms of results.”
"I don't know what the future brings. I'll just try to kind of go with the flow to see how I feel in a given moment, but I still plan to compete and play next season," Djokovic said after losing to Sinner in the recent Shanghai Masters final.
That loss was his third in his last four clashes against the Italian.
Djokovic also said he is not driven by joining Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer as the only men to win 100 titles.
"It's not a life-or-death type of goal for me. I think I've achieved all of my biggest goals in my career," he said.
"Right now, it's really about Slams and still seeing how far I can push the bar for myself."
