{"id":1863904,"date":"2026-04-03T15:00:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T12:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1863904"},"modified":"2026-04-03T15:00:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T12:00:31","slug":"novak-djokovics-latest-big-decision-fuels-rumours-over-his-french-open-participation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1863904","title":{"rendered":"Novak Djokovic&#8217;s latest big decision fuels rumours over his French Open participation"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">Novak Djokovic\u2019s latest big decision fuels rumours over his French Open participation<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/kevin-palmer\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Kevin Palmer                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"03 Apr 2026 4:00 PM\" data-ps-date=\"03 Apr 2026 4:00 PM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1775228431\"><br \/>\n                            03 Apr 2026 4:00 PM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img 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space-x-5\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 dark:hidden h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_light.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <button id=\"t365-article-share-btn-hidden\" class=\"mr-2 hidden h-6 w-6 appearance-none border-none !text-share-icon outline-none hover:!text-share-icon-active sm:hidden\" data-title=\"Novak Djokovic\u2019s latest big decision fuels rumours over his French Open participation\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5 border-b border-page\"><\/div>\n<section>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5\">\n<figure class=\"aspect-h-9 aspect-w-16 relative\">\n                                        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1320\" height=\"742\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"w-full h-full object-cover object-center !my-0\" src=\"https:\/\/d2me2qg8dfiw8u.cloudfront.net\/content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Novak-Djokovic-Indian-Wells-2026-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Pictured: Novak Djokovic waves to the crowd.\">                <\/figure><figcaption class=\"flex items-center space-x-3 border-b border-mobile-caption px-3 lg:border-caption\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-1.5 break-words !text-xs !text-content\">\n                                Novak Djokovic waves to the crowd.                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\"><!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/novak-djokovic\">Novak Djokovic<\/a> has been told he should consider skipping this year\u2019s French Open, but will the Serbian legend listen to the advice given out by two former British No 1s?<\/p>\n<p>Djokovic was forced to pull out of last month\u2019s Miami Open due to injury and he only made it through to the fourth round at the Indian Wells Masters, wheres<\/p>\n<p>He has also pulled out of next week\u2019s Monte Carlos Masters, with his next tournament appearance uncertain as he looks to plot his most viable route to a 25th Grand Slam title in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>While the Serbian legend has made it clear that he is targeting a record-breaking addition major title as one of the primary final targets in his remarkable career, there is a strong feeling among plenty of observers that his best chance of reaching a goal that will move him ahead of Margaret Court in the all-time list of major winners may not come at Roland Garros.<\/p>\n<p>He may be a three-time winner at Roland Garros and also won a prized Olympic gold medal at the venue in the 2024 Paris Olympics, but clay courts are unlikely to be the most likely route to that elusive final major title in his career.<\/p>\n<h2>More Tennis News<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/novak-djokovic-schedule-tournament-director-reveals-tennis-great-keen-to-play-key-clay-event\">Novak Djokovic schedule: Tournament director reveals tennis great \u2018keen\u2019 to play key clay event<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/atp-tour\/monte-carlo-masters-withdrawal-list-players-join-novak-djokovic-sidelines\">Monte Carlo Masters withdrawal list: More players join Novak Djokovic on the sidelines<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The movement of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner has challenged Djokovic over the last couple of years, with his heavy defeat against Sinner in Paris last June evidence of the mountain he will have to beat the world\u2019s top two players on a clay court.<\/p>\n<p>That inspired former British No 1 Tim Henman to suggest Djokovic should focus all of his energies on what may be a final assault at the Wimbledon title heading into the European summer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI will be very interested to see how much he plays on the clay,\u201d stated Henman. \u201cThat is the most physically demanding surface. Will he play something before the French? Will he play the French at all? Will he just focus on the grass? Who knows.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can see a scenario where he doesn\u2019t play in Paris, but let\u2019s see.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Henman\u2019s former Davis Cup team-mate Greg Rusedski served up similar sentiments, as he urged Djokovic to channel is ambitions on an assault at what would be an eighth Wimbledon title.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrench Open, I kind of feel like it\u2019s out of his grasp just because of the physicality, but for all those Djokovic fans, what two weeks it has been,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/results?search_query=off+court+with+greg\">Rusedski on his podcast.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s beaten Sinner in a Grand Slam this year and he beat Alcaraz at the Australian Open last year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe trouble is, hasn\u2019t been able to do them back-to-back. That\u2019s still the conundrum that\u2019s difficult to solve when you\u2019re 38 and the body doesn\u2019t bounce back like we saw with Carlos today being so young. He was like an elastic. He was back in there physically.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe thing I am wondering is, is Djokovic going to skip the French Open and just play Wimbledon this year. I would not be surprised if he did that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Want more from Tennis365? Add us as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\">a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for tennis coverage you can trust.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Despite the advice of the two British tennis greats, Djokovic is unlikely to miss the second Grand Slam of the year, as he will still believe the draw could open up for him if misfortune or a shock defeat is handed out to defending Roland Garros champion Alcaraz or the player he beat in last year\u2019s iconic final, Italian world No 2 Sinner.<\/p>\n<p>The sensible plan for a player who will be 39 by the time he plays at Wimbledon this summer may be to rest his body and prepare for the grass court season, but Djokovic will be reluctant to miss out on what could be his final shot at glory in Paris.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ NEXT: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/novak-djokovic-goat-tennis-pat-cash\">Novak Djokovic cannot be called the GOAT of tennis, claims former Wimbledon champion<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End --><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Novak Djokovic\u2019s latest big decision fuels rumours over his French Open participation Kevin Palmer 03 Apr 2026 4:00 PM Novak Djokovic waves to the crowd. Novak Djokovic has been told he should consider skipping this year\u2019s French Open, but will the Serbian legend listen to the advice given out by two former British No 1s? [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-1863904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1863904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1863904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1863904\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1863904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1863904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1863904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}