Novak Djokovic sparks major concern ahead of U.S. Open

Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the 2025 Cincinnati Open, creating a bigger hurdle for himself ahead of the upcoming U.S. Open.

The withdrawal means the World No. 6 is set to slip further in the ATP Rankings, with Ben Shelton and Alex de Minaur on the verge of surpassing him with their performances in the Toronto Masters. If Djokovic doesn't arrive at Flushing Meadows as a top-six seed, his path to a record-breaking 25th major will become more arduous.

Furthermore, Djokovic will enter the U.S. Open with zero hard-court preparation, having not played a match in 44 days. In his last outing, he was destroyed in straight sets by World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the semifinal at Wimbledon, following which the 38-year-old expressed grave concern about his fitness levels for the rest of the year.

"I guess playing best-of-five, particularly this year, has been a real struggle for me physically," he said. "The longer the tournament goes, yeah, the worse the condition gets."

As he alluded to, Djokovic ran out of gas at the first three majors of the year, losing in the semifinals all three times after his body started to break down. The worrying trend has persisted even with Djokovic prioritizing majors over other ATP events, fueling chatter that the 24-time major winner may be nearing the end of his career.

Djokovic's lack of activity is best highlighted by the fact that he has played only 35 matches in 2025, his fewest in a year (through August) since his injury-plagued 2017 season and fewest overall since 2005. 

The chances of Djokovic winning his fifth U.S. Open title seem like a pipe dream at this point, especially given his recent record against top seeds Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Last year, he lost in the third round to Alexei Popyrin, his earliest loss at Flushing Meadows since 2016.