Australian Open door not closing on Djokovic: Tiley

Melissa Woods | October 7, 2025

Australian Open boss Craig Tiley insists the 2026 tournament won’t be Novak Djokovic’s grand slam swansong, saying the 10-time champion still has the hunger for another major title.

The 38-year-old Serbian superstar hasn’t won a grand slam trophy since the 2023 US Open but continues to strive to move past Australia great Margaret Court and win a record 25th crown.

At this year’s Australian Open, Djokovic beat Spanish world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz in in the quarter-finals but retired in his semi against Alexander Zverev due to a muscle tear after the first set.

Former Australian doubles ace Rennae Stubbs, speaking on her podcast, suggested Djokovic – currently ranked world No.5 – might choose to bow out after the January tournament.

But Tiley, speaking at the launch of next year’s Melbourne Park showpiece event, doesn’t agree Djokovic is ready to call time despite an injury-plagued 2025.

“I’ve talked to him and he’s got no intention of retiring, he wants to win a 25th slam,” said Tiley.

“He’s won here and this is the place that he could do it – he’s most comfortable on our court, he likes the speed of it, he’s got a great base of support and the Serbian community get behind him.

“Four semi-finals this year in grand slams so he’s right there, so my answer would be no, I would expect to see him play longer.”

Tiley promised the next edition of the three-week event would be bigger and better than ever, with aside from the tennis, an increase in entertainment and hospitality venues.

A new addition is the chance for tennis enthusiasts to win a million dollars in the “one-point slam”.

With Alcaraz already committing, the contest will see 22 professional players compete against 10 amateurs, with the last player left standing on Rod Laver Arena collecting the haul.

Tiley said there were no plans to follow the lead of the US Open and change the format of the mixed doubles.

Looking to attract more top-ranked singles players, the USTA held the mixed doubles before the men’s and women’s singles tournaments and it proved a hit with players and fans alike, with Alcaraz partnering young Brit Emma Raducanu.

Tiley said they sought feedback from players, who preferred to play in lead-in tournaments than play doubles before their Open singles campaign.

“We have a different situation as the players coming in in January haven’t played many matches, they’ve had their off-season, so they want to play as many singles matches as possible,” he said.

“At the US Open they’ve played the whole season so they want to do something a bit lighter like playing a doubles match.”

Meanwhile, Tiley said he was yet to speak with top-ranked Australian Daria Kasatkina, who made an emotional social media post overnight saying, “mentally and emotionally I am at breaking point”.

Kasatkina, who switched nationality from Russia to Australia earlier this year, intends to take the remainder of the year off, blaming the relentless schedule of the tennis circuit.

“I’m happy to take it off-line and have a discussion as the details I don’t know but I’m happy to discuss with her,” said Tiley, who also heads Tennis Australia.

The 28-year-old, who hasn’t been able to see her father for four years, also said the “ongoing battles to gain full Australian competition eligibility” had taken a toll.

Tiley said his hands were tied.

“It’s ongoing but it’s not a decision of ours, it’s a decision of the International Tennis Federation … it’s up to the tennis authorities to make a decision on how that goes and I can’t advise on that.”