"No thoughts of Novak Djokovic shutting things down" - Jessica Pegula's coach speculates on Serb's future and retirement plans

Jessica Pegula's coach Mark Knowles has weighed in on Novak Djokovic's future as the Serb nears retirement. Djokovic is closing in on 40 years of age, and Knowles believes that the former World No. 1 could play until 2027.

Djokovic is still competing at a high level, but defeating his young rivals has proven difficult for him. He has reached the semifinals of all the Grand Slam events this year. However, he failed to reach a single final after coming up short against Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, and Jannik Sinner (twice).

During an appearance on the Inside-In podcast, Knowles spoke about the Serb's future and claimed that he could play beyond the current calendar year. He said (via The Tennis Gazette):

"You know what, Novak [Djokovic] is hard to speculate on. I don’t think any mere mortal could find motivation to still play, but he does. Thankfully for us, we get to see him play. We want to see the all-time greats play forever. He is testing Father Time, which we all love. Nobody has defeated it ever. He is coming close. He is in a battle with it.

“From what I have heard, Novak is going to play in 2026 and 2027. From what I’m hearing, there are no thoughts of him shutting things down. So he obviously loves the challenge and still believes in himself.”

The Serb won his 24th Grand Slam title in 2023 at the US Open.

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Jessica Pegula's coach Mark Knowles opens up about Novak Djokovic's focus on Grand Slam events

Jessica Pegula with her coach Mark Knowles at the WTA Finals 2024 - Source: Getty

Jessica Pegula's coach Mark Knowles also opened up about Novak Djokovic's schedule and his focus on Grand Slam events.

“I think Novak has been pretty transparent with his schedule. He is severely focused on the majors and trying to get number 25,” he said on the Inside-In podcast.

Djokovic was in fine form at the 2025 US Open, defeating several youngsters before taking down fourth seed Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, however, he was convincingly defeated by Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets. The Spaniard went on to win the title.

The Serb has signed up for the Masters 1000 event in Shanghai. The event will commence in the first week of October.