Novak Djokovic succumbed to injury during the semifinal match he played against Alexander Zverev at the 2025 Australian Open. Following the match, Martina Navratilova expressed her shock about his mid-match retirement and also censured the crowd inside the Rod Laver Arena who were booing him.

Navratilova, while talking about Djokovic’s struggles due to injuries, recalled the time when he tore his meniscus during the 2024 French Open, which forced him to withdraw from the quarterfinals against Casper Ruud. He underwent surgery following which he reached the Wimbledon final.

Djokovic, in the semifinal, played just one set which was pushed into a tie-breaker. He lost it and then called off the match. When he was walking out of the court, a section of the crowd started to boo him.

Djokovic first suffered the injury during his quarterfinal match against Carlos Alcaraz. But after taking a medical timeout, he lost the first set but won the next three to beat the 21-year-old Spaniard. In the press conference after the semifinal, the Serb then declared that he was unsure whether his body would allow him to come back to Melbourne Park next year.

Novak Djokovic struggled a bit against two unseeded opponents in the first and second rounds. After beating Tomas Machac and Jiri Lehecka, he scheduled the quarterfinal match against Carlos Alcaraz. Mats Wilander lauded Djokovic for playing a high level of tennis and predicted that he would be a danger in the next three majors this season.

Djokovic last lifted a Major at the 2023 US Open and the same year, he would have completed the Calender Grand Slam had not Alcaraz beat him in the Wimbledon final. The 24-time Grand Slam champion will not be representing Serbia in the Davis Cup but is expected to play in the Qatar Open in February.