Novak Djokovic yet to feature on clay as he withdraws from Madrid Open

The 22-time major winner has not featured on the ATP Tour since being beaten by Jack Draper in the round of 16 at the  Indian Wells Open in mid-March as he skipped the Miami Open and Monte Carlo Masters, citing an unnamed injury.

The three-time Madrid champion was expected to make his 2026 clay-court debut in the Spanish capital next week as he was seen practising on clay in Marbella a few days ago, but he has taken to social media to reveal he won't play.

"Madrid, unfortunately I won't be able to compete Mutua Madrid Open this year. I'm continuing my recovery in order to be back soon. Hasta pronto!" he wrote.

The tennis great has played only two tournaments so far in 2026, the Australian Open where he finished runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz and the aforementioned Indian Wells Open.

The Italian Open will take place after the Madrid Open and last year Djokovic played in Spain, but not in Rome and he could well swap things around this year and head to Foro Italia for some matches on clay.

Having lost in the second round in Madrid, the former world No 1 then accepted a late entry into the Geneva Open - which took place a week before the French Open - and went on to win the tournament to secure his 100th ATP Tour singles trophy.

It meant he started the 2025 French Open with only six matches on clay under his belt â- four in Geneva and one at the Madrid Open as he lost in the second round against Matteo Arnaldi and one at Monte Carlo as he was beaten in his opening match by Alejandro Tabilo.

And despite being undercooked on the red dirt, Djokovic still went on to reach the semi-final at Roland Garros before losing in straight sets against Jannik Sinner.

The Serbian's withdrawal won't have much of an impact on his position in the ATP Rankings as he will only drop 10 points while he has a points lead of more than 700 over fifth-placed Felix Auger-Aliassime.

As for the Madrid Open, it leaves organisers facing the possibility of being without the three biggest names in men's tennis as Carlos Alcaraz is struggling with a forearm injury, while world No 1 Jannik Sinner has admitted he is yet to decide if he will compete.

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