BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) 鈥� won't defend his ATP Finals title after ruling himself out Tuesday citing an injury, leaving the season-ending event without a member of the for the first time in 23 years.
鈥淚 was really looking forward to being there, but due to ongoing injury I won't be playing next week," Djokovic wrote on social media, without specifying what the problem is. "Apologies to those who were planning to see me.鈥�
The eight-man tournament begins Sunday in Turin, Italy.
Djokovic has won the . He beat for the title last year.
Roger Federer, , won the event six times after making his debut in 2002; Rafael Nadal, , was the runner-up twice at the ATP Finals but never won it.
Not since 2001 has the tournament been held without at least one of Djokovic, Federer or Nadal. This season also was the for a member of that trio.
Djokovic finishes the year with a 37-9 record but only one tournament championship: , which came at the Paris Games in August. That was his 99th tour-level title.
Djokovic did not add to his men's-record 24 Grand Slam trophies in 2024 and dealt with a torn meniscus in his right knee that required surgery and forced him to withdraw from the French Open before the quarterfinals. After , he played one Davis Cup match and then reached the final of the Shanghai Masters last month, losing to Sinner. He withdrew from the Paris Masters.
Joining Sinner in Turin will be Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, Alex de Minaur and Andrey Rublev.
鈥淲ishing all the players a great tournament,鈥� Djokovic said. 鈥淪ee you soon!鈥�
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