Novak Djokovic’s 25th grand slam bid began at the 2026 US Open in New York, where a title would move him clear of Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24.
The tournament marked Djokovic’s 20th US Open appearance, as reported by the ATP Tour. He won the title four times, most recently in 2023, and arrived in New York after an early exit at the Cincinnati Open that cut short his hard-court build-up.
The field around him shifted shortly before play began. Jannik Sinner withdrew with a knee injury, while defending champion Carlos Alcaraz returned to Flushing Meadows after four months out with a wrist problem, leaving the top of the draw unusually open.
What Djokovic said about his 25th grand slam preparation
Djokovic said the Cincinnati defeat, unwelcome as it was, handed him an unexpected block of training time before the year’s final major. He described using the two weeks that followed to work on conditioning and mental preparation rather than travelling straight into another tournament.
Djokovic said:
“I don’t like early losses anywhere, to be honest, but it gave me time to be preparing for US Open in a most adequate way.”
“I had two weeks to really train and get my body and mind into the right state, prepared for what’s coming up.”
Preparation and competition were not the same thing, he cautioned, drawing a line between training-court form and the demands of five-set tennis on the main show court in New York, where he had played some of the defining matches of his career.
“If you ask me if I’m prepared, I feel like I am, as best I can be. But it’s different training and then getting out on the Arthur Ashe Stadium and playing best-of-five sets.”
Djokovic and the longevity behind a 25th grand slam bid
The 2026 tournament was his 20th appearance at Flushing Meadows, a span that stretched back across the greater part of his professional career. Asked about reaching that mark, he framed it as the product of a deliberate choice made in his early years to build a career that would last.
“I’m very proud of that. Longevity was always one of the goals when I was younger, trying to have a long career, trying to have more shots at grand slams, and stay healthy long enough so that I can perform for as many years as possible.”
That longevity was on display earlier in the season at Wimbledon, where he passed Roger Federer’s record for the most match wins at the championships and played the longest quarter-final in the tournament’s history. Both records came within weeks of his arrival in New York.
His campaign starts with an opening-round match at Flushing Meadows, and seven wins stand between him and the record. Whether the 25th title arrives in New York or not, the run depends on how his body holds across a best-of-five draw.
