Less than a week before the start of the 2026 Australian Open, Novak Djokovic showed fresh signs of health concerns, fuelling doubts over his participation in the season’s first Grand Slam. The development comes days after he withdrew from the Adelaide International, citing a lack of acclimatisation.

On Wednesday, Djokovic, who has not played a competitive match since November, took part in two practice sessions at Melbourne Park. In the first, he trained with Daniil Medvedev on Rod Laver Arena and lost 5-7, but appeared comfortable during extended rallies. He later moved to Court 10 to practise with Czech player Jiri Lehecka, but that session was cut short after just 12 minutes when Djokovic appeared to injure his neck.

Struggling to serve, the Serb was attended to by his physiotherapist, Miljan Amanovic, who treated him for several minutes. The session did not resume.

Djokovic has not been in competitive action since winning the Hellenic Championship in Greece on November 8. He had been scheduled to feature at the Adelaide International earlier this month but withdrew, saying he was “not quite physically ready to compete.”

The 24-time Grand Slam champion is slated to face Frances Tiafoe in an exhibition match on Thursday, the same day the men’s singles draw for the Australian Open is expected to be announced.

A 10-time champion in Melbourne, Djokovic has not won a Grand Slam since his US Open triumph in 2023. He reached the semifinals at all four majors last year, losing to Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open, Jannik Sinner at the French Open, and Carlos Alcaraz at both Wimbledon and the US Open.

Former Wimbledon winner Pat Cash reckons the only way Djokovic would lift the unprecedented 25th major of his career if Alcaraz and Sinner suffer upsets in the Australian Open.

“He needs a couple of them to fall over, that’s the reality. I’m really looking forward to seeing how he does,” the Australian said to Tennis365. “Towards the end of your career, it’s crucial to find that perfect balance of training hard enough to withstand two, even three, five-set matches but not overdoing it. Train enough to endure, train hard enough not to get injured.

“For Novak to keep going is absolutely phenomenal. He’s always finding solutions to the problems, so it will be very interesting to see how he fares at the Australian Open. Has he played enough matches? Has he trained enough? Is he saving his physicality only for the matches? And if so, will it work?

“I don’t see him beating Alcaraz and Sinner in consecutive five-set matches, and that is his problem. He might reach the semi-finals again, but then he is likely to have a problem that is already familiar to him.”