“It’d be tempting to keep going” – John McEnroe issues word of caution to Novak Djokovic about retirement amid his Wimbledon campaign

John McEnroe weighed in on Novak Djokovic’s retirement from the sport and sent a word of caution that the latter would probably hang up his racket when he can’t win anymore. Djokovic, who has broken more records than any player in history, will look to clinch his 25th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon.

Novak Djokovic, who boasts 24 Grand Slams and a resume that surpasses every player in history, has been going strong at 38. He had a semifinal exit at the 2025 Australian Open after losing to Alexander Zverev and another at the French Open, succumbing to World No. 1 Jannik Sinner. As the only active player among the Big Three alongside Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the Serb will look to touch the 25th mark at Wimbledon.

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He already clocked his 99th win at the tournament by beating Britain’s Dan Evans 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 in the second round. As per former player John McEnroe, Djokovic's retirement is looming, and he would be done once more than just a couple of people surpass him.

“It’s hard with him – he’s broken pretty much every record so if he broke it I suppose that would be the perfect time to stop. But if he was still winning at that level? At worst he’s three in the world, right? So to me, it’d be pretty tempting to keep going. But you don’t want to get to that point where, god forbid it’s hard to even imagine, him getting beaten up by more than just a couple of people."

McEnroe also added that the Serb has nothing else to achieve but Grand Slams at this point.

"He’s already said he doesn’t care about the year-end No 1 ranking, he did that for like eight years. He was chasing to be the best at the end of the year, which you’ve got to respect big time. Now he just wants to try and win majors so he’s not playing many tournaments.” (via BBC)

The 38-year-old is the only player to achieve two Career Golden Masters and a triple Career Grand Slam.

Novak Djokovic revealed his post-retirement plans with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

Novak Djokovic hinted at a retirement at the French Open when he expressed doubt about his appearance on the surface next year. After he cruised to a comfortable victory over Evans in the Wimbledon second round, the 2024 Paris Olympic gold medalist shared that his dream post-retirement scenario would be to sip margaritas on the beach with Federer and Nadal while taking trips down memory lanes.

"I don’t reflect fully on everything I’ve been through. I’d like to. But I think that’s going to come when I set the racquet aside and sip margaritas on the beach with Federer and Nadal." (via pos-match conference)

He will face his fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanović in the third round, scheduled to take place on June 5, 2025.

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About the author

Agnijeeta Majumder

Agnijeeta is a US Olympics journalist at Sportskeeda. She holds a Master’s degree in English and has worked as a school teacher, a blogger, a content writer and a sports writer over the past 5 years. A lover of high-adrenaline track and field events, she was also a sprinter during her school days.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone happens to be her favorite Olympian, and the athlete’s feat of breaking four records within 13 months inspires her, apart from the American's body language on and off the track. Grant Hackett swimming with a partially dysfunctional lung and winning gold in Athens is her all-time favorite Olympic moment.

Agnijeeta believes that deriving of unique angles from podcasts and interviews carried out by Olympics.com, along with hype-building of potential Olympic events on social media can help fill the coverage gap during the off season.

When not at her work desk, Agnijeeta likes to sing and paint. She also plays string instruments like guitar and ukulele and is an avid player of word puzzles.

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