Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the Italian Open, tournament organizers confirmed April 29.
Djokovic, who has said his only goal for this clay-court season is the French Open in Paris, is now unlikely to play a competitive match before it begins in late May.
The world No. 5 lost his most recent match, at the Madrid Open, to Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi. It was his fourth opening-match defeat in 2025, and in a post-match news conference he described the “new reality” he faces on the tennis circuit.
“Trying to win a match or two, not really thinking about getting far in the tournament,” Djokovic said.
Djokovic has won the Italian Open six times, second only to Rafael Nadal’s 10 titles in the tournament.
Djokovic, 37, is the most successful men’s tennis player of the modern era, with 24 Grand Slam titles and 99 ATP Tour titles. In recent years, he has limited his schedule in order to maximize his ability to peak at the biggest events in the sport.
In an injury-hit 2024, he won zero majors and tour titles, but still captured the one thing in tennis he wanted most: an Olympic gold medal. He also did not lose a single opening match that year.
In 2025, he had largely abandoned that strategy, playing both the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif. and the Miami Open, as well as the Monte Carlo Masters prior to Madrid. But after a run of sobering results, interspersed with a final defeat in Miami, he has pivoted once more.
The Italian Open begins May 7, with men’s world No. 1 Jannik Sinner returning from his three-month doping ban.
(Photo: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)