ATP Match of the Year, No. 3: Flavio Cobolli, Zizou Bergs give everything in a 32-point Davis Cup tiebreaker

Despite playing a limited schedule of 13 tournaments this year, including just four in the last five months of the season, the quality of Novak Djokovic's results were so good that he still managed to finish at No. 4 on the ATP's year-end rankings.

Among his highlights this year were his incredible 100th and 101st career titles, on clay in Geneva and on indoor hard courts in Athens, and reaching the semifinals of all four Grand Slams—one of only two men to do that this year, alongside Jannik Sinner. He was also the only player to defeat Carlos Alcaraz before the final at a Grand Slam this year, beating the Spaniard in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. And in Miami, he reached his milestone 60th career Masters 1000 final.

At the end of the day, his No. 4 finish was historic—not only was it his record-breaking 16th career Top 4 finish, surpassing Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's 15, but at 38 years young he also became the oldest player to finish a year in the Top 4 in ATP rankings history, surpassing Federer for that record.—John Berkok

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Novak Djokovic speaks after "incredible battle" with Lorenzo Musetti in Athens final

What's to Come in 2026?

Success for Novak Djokovic means one thing: a 25th Grand Slam singles title.

At least, for now.

In 2025, Djokovic cut the perceived carbs of his schedule, playing just 13 tournaments. In four of those tournaments, he played just one match. But even that streamlined itinerary wasn’t enough to convince Djokovic that the ATP Finals was worth it. The Serbian withdrew with an “ongoing injury,” but Turin was always in doubt given his participation in Athens just days before.

Djokovic has lamented that, from a physical standpoint, he’s up against a near-impenetrable two-headed giant in Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. He lost in straight sets to the Spaniard at the US Open (though he beat him at the Australian Open), and has dropped his last six to the Italian. If nothing else, Djokovic is giving himself more chances to flip the script. He won 27 of his last 31 matches, 15 of those wins coming in majors.

But that 15-3 record at the majors includes three losses to Sinner or Alcaraz.

Novak’s narrow goal, combined with rivals he’s having great difficulty overcoming in the format needed to achieve that goal—best-of-five set play—makes “success” more elusive than ever. Will Djokovic change his tune as time goes on? I think it’s possible. When Roland Garros comes around, Djokovic will be 39. Maybe deep runs at the Slams will be seen in a different light. Maybe success at other tournaments will be cherished more.

Or maybe Novak Djokovic will continue to play and approach the sport like no one else has before.—Ed McGrogan