Paris Masters Director Shares If He Thinks Novak Djokovic Will Ever Play the Tournament

Novak Djokovic, just like last year, will be skipping the Paris Masters. It was in Paris in 2023 that Djokovic took home his record 40th Masters 1000 trophy of his career by defeating Grigor Dimitrov.

Last year, the former World No.1 ended his season at the Shanghai Masters. He featured in Shanghai this year as well, but his run ended in the semifinals with a straight-set defeat to eventual champion Valentin Vacherot. The main draw of the Paris Masters is scheduled to start on October 27, and in the pre-tournament press conference, tournament director Cedric Pioline shared whether he thinks Djokovic will ever return to Paris for the indoor hardcourt Masters 1000.

I hope we’ll see Djokovic again. He’s a huge champion. He holds records in terms of titles in the Masters 1000s.

Djokovic has won seven titles from nine finals in Paris and holds the record for most trophies in the event. He was last seen in action at the Six Kings Slam, the lucrative exhibition event that offers $6 million to the champion.

Djokovic first lost to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in the semifinals and then handed Taylor Fritz the walkover in the third-place match due to some physical problems. Before Riyadh, Djokovic vomited on court several times while he was competing in the hot and humid conditions in Shanghai.

As time flies, he’s 38 years old. He’s old for this profession. He says it himself. His body is 15 years older, basically. To manage to be as competitive as he is… I think he only played 10 tournaments. He was actually a runner-up in most of the tournaments. We could see that it was difficult. Especially this year in Shanghai, it was very humid.

Cedric Pioline added

Instead of Paris, Djokovic is likely to end his season at the first edition of the Hellenic Championship, scheduled to start on November 2 in Athens. The 38-year-old has not confirmed whether he will be playing the ATP Finals, where he last lifted the title in 2023 by beating Sinner, but chose not to defend it last year.

Andy Roddick on Novak Djokovic’s PTPA organization

According to Novak Djokovic‘s former rival, Andy Roddick, the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), founded by Nole and Canada’s Vasek Pospisil, hasn’t done much to change the system. Djokovic talked about the PTPA during the Joy Forum in Riyadh, saying the association aims to keep injustice in check. But Roddick thinks the PTPA has failed to do that.