Novak Djokovic’s late-season plan had looked set. The Paris Masters, then the Nitto ATP Finals if he could squeeze into the top eight. Basel was not on the schedule.

Then he accepted a wildcard for the ATP 500 event in Switzerland on 18 October. It is his first appearance in Basel since 2011, and only his fourth in all. His previous three ended in the title (2009), the final (2010) and the semi-finals (2011).

The reason is simple arithmetic. He sits 11th in the ATP Live Race to Turin, with only the top eight qualifying for the season-ending finals. Jannik Sinner is already out for the rest of 2026 with a knee injury, which leaves one place open above the line, according to the ATP. Djokovic needs the extra swing of indoor points before Paris.

He has not been short of form. On 6 October he won his seventh China Open, his 102nd tour-level title, after Alex de Minaur retired in the second set of the final.

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“I can still play at the highest level,” he said in Beijing, in comments reported by the ATP.

Shanghai, a week later, was a different story: a first-round exit. Hence Basel.

Humbert first, Shelton possibly later

The 4th seed opens against French left-hander Ugo Humbert, the world No. 35 and one of the most awkward draws on an indoor court. Four of Humbert’s seven ATP titles have come indoors, and he knocked Carlos Alcaraz out en route to the 2024 Paris Masters final.

Djokovic is in the top half of the 32-player draw, where top seed Ben Shelton opens against Casper Ruud. If both come through, they would meet in the semi-finals.

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The match with Humbert is scheduled for Tuesday, 27 October at 12 noon local time at St. Jakobshalle.

Why indoors suits him now

Djokovic was asked earlier this autumn why he had added more indoor tennis.

“Another motivation for adding a tournament this indoor season is because I think it will be easier for me physically indoors because there is no heat, no sun, no external factors that I face when I play outside,” he told Tennis365. “It will mean a lot to me and we hope for the best.”

At 39, that calculation is not a throwaway line. A sheltered court, a familiar surface and a tournament he has only ever reached the last four in is as favourable a setting as the calendar still offers him.

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A Wawrinka farewell in the same half

The other story in his half is Stan Wawrinka’s goodbye. The 41-year-old three-time Grand Slam champion is retiring after Basel, his home tournament, and opens on Monday against 8th seed Jiří Lehečka. A tribute evening has been built into the first day of the main draw.

If the draw unfolds in order of seedings, Wawrinka and Djokovic would not meet, but both are in the same half as Shelton, which gives the top of the bracket a weight disproportionate to a regular 500. Djokovic walks on at midday on Tuesday.

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