Novak Djokovic—like Federer and Nadal before him—has seen injuries become his Kryptonite

For the tennis supermen of the 21st century, Kryptonite comes in only one form: Injuries.

None of the Big 3—Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic—suffered from burnout. Their skills and their results didn’t decline noticeably, even when they were past 35. The traveling, the practicing, the gym work, the ice baths: They might have been annoying, but not enough to make them want to quit.

Until the end, all of them were competing on equal terms with players 15 years younger. Federer and Nadal won their final Grand Slam titles at 36, then played on, in gradual decline, for two more years. As of now, Djokovic appears to be on a similar track: He won his last major at 36, in 2023, and has soldiered on for nearly two years now without one.

All three wanted to keep going for longer, and they did everything possible to make it happen. But Federer and Nadal, despite multiple surgeries and comebacks, couldn’t overcome the injuries that sidelined them after 36. For Federer, it was his knees, for Nadal, it was his hip.

Playing best-of-five, particularly this year, has been a real struggle for me physically. The longer the tournament goes, the worse the condition gets.

Djokovic hasn’t waved the white flag yet, but since 2023, his injuries have also taken a toll in a way they didn’t when he was younger. In 2024, he tore his meniscus in his right knee at Roland Garros; he had to withdraw from that tournament, and he still wasn’t at full strength at Wimbledon, despite making the final. In Australia this year, a muscle tear in his left leg forced him to retire in the semifinals. On Wednesday at Wimbledon, he took a hard fall at the end of his quarterfinal win over Flavio Cobolli, and was obviously compromised in his 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 semifinal loss to Jannik Sinner on Friday.

“Wasn’t really a pleasant feeling on the court,” Djokovic said. “Disappointed that I just wasn’t able to move as well as I thought or hoped that I would.”

Asked about his “unfortunate” series of injuries, Djokovic, who turned 38 in May, chalked it up to that famously undefeated opponent, Father Time.

“I don’t think it’s bad fortune,” he said. “It’s just age, the wear and tear of the body. As much as I’m taking care of it, the reality hits me right now, last year and a half, like never before.”

“Playing best-of-five, particularly this year, has been a real struggle for me physically. The longer the tournament goes, the worse the condition gets.”

As much as the match itself, tennis fans watched Djokovic’s exit on Centre Court closely, looking for signs that he may have been leaving for the last time. Unlike at Roland Garros, Djokovic didn’t hint at a final good-bye during his walk off. He made that even clearer during his press conference.

“Hopefully it’s not my last match on the Centre Court,” he said. “I’m not planning to finish my Wimbledon career today. So I’m planning to come back definitely at least one more time, play on the Centre Court for sure.”

Djokovic says that it’s frustrating to get to the business end of a major, and not have enough for the biggest matches against the best opponents.

“I reach the final stages, I reach the semis of every Slam this year, but I have to play Sinner or Alcaraz,” he lamented. “These guys are fit, young, sharp. I feel like I’m going into the match with tank half empty.”

Healthy, Djokovic at 38 is still very close to the Spaniard and the Italian. He beat Alcaraz at the Australian Open this year, and pushed Sinner hard through three tight sets at Roland Garros. Maybe that will be enough to keep him going into 2026.

But the examples of Federer and Nadal tell us that getting back to full playing strength for any extended period will be difficult, if not impossible. Those two had one last surgery, and made one last-gasp effort, before finally deciding they couldn’t do it again. It seems likely that Djokovic will decide the same thing at some point.

So the Big 3, like everyone else, have been defeated by time and age. But their fight against those things was still remarkable. Unlike most athletes, their skills didn’t decline, and their speed and athleticism didn’t erode. They were never surpassed by a younger generation, and there was very little they couldn’t do at 36 that they could do at 26 or 21.

Except recover from injuries. Even Superman had his Kryptonite.

“You want to play,” Djokovic said on Friday. “You’re determined. But then the body doesn’t want to listen. That’s it.”