Novak Djokovic Out For Rest Of 2017 Season With Elbow Injury

Novak Djokovic will sit out the remainder of the 2017 season due to an injured right elbow, the former World number one announced Wednesday.

Novak Djokovic news: elbow injury Forces Him OuT

The 30-year-old Serb withdrew from his Wimbledon quarter-final match against Tomas Berdych on July 12 because of the injury , after trailing the Czech star7-6 (7-2) 2-0. Earlier in Wimbledon, Djokovic received treatment for a right shoulder injury during his last-16 victory over Adrian Mannarino. 

Djokovic will thus miss the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 28. He has played in 51 straight Grand Slam tournaments, a run that dates back to his first-ever major tournament, the 2005 Australian Open. This streak is the third-longest active one among men and seventh-longest overall in history.

“It is the most important for me to recover, to be able to play injury free for as long as possible, to compete in the sport that has given me so much, the sport I love,” Djokovic said Wednesday. “Of course I want to return to the winning form, to win again, to win the trophies. But now it is not the time to talk about it. At this point, I’m focusing on recovery.”

Since the 2005 Melbourne event, Djokovic has won 12 Grand Slam titles, including the U.S. Open in 2011 and 2015.

“My body has its limits, and I have to respect that and be grateful for all that I have achieved so far,” he added.

Djokovic also announced that Andre Agassi — who recently began coaching the Serb on a part-time basis, including at this year’s French Open — will continue to train him when he returns to the tour in 2018. The Serb also said he has spoken with several medical professionals with regards to taking time off because of his injury.

“All the doctors I’ve consulted, and all the specialists I have visited, in Serbia and all over the world, have agreed that this injury requires rest,” said Djokovic.

In his full statement — which he released on his website, his Facebook page and at a press conference in his native Belgrade — Djokovic revealed that he had been experiencing pain in his elbow on his racket-swinging arm for about one year and a half but had decided to forgo surgery to take a break from the tour instead. He is not the only top-ranked tennis star to have recently decided to take a hiatus from the sport: Roger Federer sat out the second half of 2016 after Wimbledon in order to allow his surgically repaired left knee to completely heal.

Federer returned at the beginning of this season and won the Australian Open to end a Grand Slam drought of four and a half years, then secured two more trophies: the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California and the Miami Open. The Swiss took another break after that, skipping all European clay-court competitions and returning for grass play to claim his eighth Wimbledon trophy and 19th major title overall earlier this month.

Djokovic — who is currently the world’s fourth-ranked male player — won the Aegon International in Eastbourne, England earlier this month, his 68th title but first since January.

Djokovic shockingly lost to world number 117 Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan at January’s Australian Open, where he was the defending champion. The Serb also fell to Austrian Dominic Thiem in the French Open quarter-finals in June. Djokovic’s last major trophy came at Roland Garros in 2016. He then became the first man in nearly 50 years to win four consecutive titles.

Djokovic lost to Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka in the U.S. Open final last year.

The Serb also revealed on Wednesday that his wife is expecting their second child.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 07: Novak Djokovic of Serbia plays a forehand against Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina in their singles match on Day 2 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Tennis Centre on August 7, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)