Novak Djokovic has been named to the ATP half of a 12-strong council the four majors have set up to give players a formal voice on Grand Slam sporting matters. Signing up to a body that will only start work in the months after the 2026 US Open is not the natural first move of a man about to walk away.

The Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open announced the creation of the Grand Slam Player Advisory Council on 20 August 2026, describing it as a forum for direct communication, feedback and collaboration between the four majors and the tour. The council will only begin its work after this year’s US Open, with prize money, scheduling and playing conditions on its standing agenda.

Djokovic in, Alcaraz and Sinner out

The full line-up was made public on Monday, six men and six women. Alongside Djokovic on the ATP side sit Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Lorenzo Musetti and Arthur Rinderknech. The women’s side lists Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula, Elina Svitolina, Iva Jovic and Maria Sakkari.

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Coco Gauff, each of whom has publicly questioned the tour calendar at various points this year, are not on it.

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Ben Shelton, the youngest of the male members, welcomed the format when the council was first unveiled.

“Having a seat at the table with the Grand Slams is something we have wanted for some time,” Shelton said in August.

Where Djokovic stood on the prize money row

Djokovic sat out the players’ most active push on prize money earlier in the year. Speaking at the Italian Open in Rome in May, as Sabalenka publicly criticised the Roland-Garros prize pot, he made clear he was not one of the organisers.

“Players know that they’ll always have my support,” he said in Rome.

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“I’m always supportive of the stronger player position in the ecosystem.”

Taking a formal seat on the council is a different kind of involvement, and one that ties him to Grand Slam business for as long as the appointment runs.

A season that has not gone Djokovic’s way

The move comes at the end of the toughest Grand Slam year of Djokovic’s career. He reached the Australian Open final on 1 February, losing 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 to Carlos Alcaraz, and at 38 years and 255 days became the oldest man in the Open era to make an Australian Open final.

His year then unwound: a third-round exit at Roland-Garros, a semi-final defeat at Wimbledon, and a five-set first-round loss at the US Open to Argentine Mariano Navone (7-6, 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1). That August defeat dropped him out of the ATP top ten for the first time since July 2018.

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He has not played a competitive match since.

Djokovic returns at the China Open in Beijing, which starts on 30 September, his first appearance at the event in 11 years. He has never lost there, having won the title on all six previous visits.

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