Novak Djokovic ends 2026 season having set five unwanted records
Novak Djokovic ended the 2026 ATP season having compiled five unwanted records, with his campaign concluding in Paris and his overall figures showing a marked decline. He finished 2026 with a 22-10 win-loss record and a 68.75% winning percentage, his lowest since 2005.
Djokovic began the year by reaching the Australian Open final in January, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in four sets, and later won the Beijing title, preserving his streak of at least one title in 21 consecutive seasons. He was also the only player this year to beat both Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev. After the Australian Open his health and fitness reportedly deteriorated, and his season closed with a defeat in Paris.
His Masters 1000 campaign ended in the Paris round of 32 when he lost in three sets to Rinky Hijikata; Djokovic took the first set but was broken at 3-3 in the decider. He failed to reach a single Masters 1000 quarter-final for the first time since 2005 and won only three matches at that level, finishing 3-5 with second-round exits in Shanghai and Paris despite being a record 40-time Masters champion.
At the US Open Djokovic suffered a five-set loss to Mariano Navone, then ranked 49th, with Navone winning 11 of the last 12 games; the defeat ended Djokovic’s 78-consecutive first-round winning streak at Grand Slams, the longest in the Open era, and was his first opening-round loss at a major since the 2006 Australian Open.
Several other unexpected defeats came against lower-ranked opponents: seven of his 10 losses were to players ranked outside the top 25, including Dino Prizmic in Rome, Thiago Agustin Tirante in Cincinnati, Hubert Hurkacz in Shanghai, Jan-Lennard Struff in Basel and Joao Fonseca at Roland Garros, where Djokovic led by two sets before losing in five. Hijikata, the world No. 83, was the lowest-ranked player to beat him this season.
Djokovic maintained a 6-2 record against top-10 opponents at the time of the match, but the overall results left him outside the top 10 at year-end, down from No. 4 at the end of 2025. The year-end finish outside the top 10 will be only the fifth of his career, after 2004 (186th), 2005 (78th), 2006 (16th) and 2017 (12th). He also missed the ATP Finals for the first time through failing to qualify since 2017; his hopes of reaching Turin were dented when he failed to reach the semi-finals in Paris.
Djokovic faces the 2027 Australian Open having to defend almost 40% of his total ranking points, a challenge noted in assessments of his position; failure to defend those points is described in the source as a risk to his standing inside the ATP top 20.