The Serbian offered one short line about his health, said that was all he was willing to share, and shut the interviewer down when the next question came.

“No, no, we’re not going to talk about that,” he told Sportal.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion has spent much of 2026 talking around a chronic issue he insists is not a stamina problem but something, in his own words to Sportal, more related to health. He has repeatedly declined to say what it is, as reported by Tennis Majors, adding only that he and his team are still trying to get to the bottom of it.

At Cincinnati earlier this year he was a touch more candid, telling reporters it was a condition that had been “bothering me for the past couple of years”.

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Back at St. Jakobshalle after 15 years

The 39-year-old accepted a wildcard for the Swiss Indoors on 16 October, the ATP confirmed. It is his fourth appearance in Basel and his first since 2011, with the main draw starting on Monday and running through 1 November.

He has a 12-2 record at the event and lifted the title in 2009, beating Roger Federer in the final.

Djokovic told Sportal the window had opened almost by accident. The Six Kings Slam exhibition in Saudi Arabia was pushed back to December, which left him looking for a tune-up on an indoor hard court, and Basel suddenly fit.

Chasing a 17th ATP Finals appearance

“There’s the motivation of going to Turin. I’d love to be there, and I have a chance, so we’ll see,” he said.

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The arithmetic is tight. In the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin as of 18 October, Djokovic sat 11th on 2,840 points, with Spain’s Rafael Jodar ninth on 3,159 after a run to the Shanghai final. Jannik Sinner’s season is over through a knee injury, which has widened the door but still leaves Djokovic chasing the field.

Indoor venues suit his body, he told Sportal, because they remove the heat and sun that have troubled him outdoors through much of the year.

He is scheduled to open against France’s Ugo Humbert in Basel this week, before the Paris Masters from 2 to 8 November, the final Masters 1000 of the season and the last stop before the ATP Finals field is set.

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