Photo by Allen Kee / ESPN Images(NEW YORK) — Novak Djokovic won’t compete on the court for the rest of the year, the world’s fourth ranked tennis player announced Wednesday.
Djokovic has been playing through a right elbow injury. He said Wednesday that he will skip all remaining tournaments — including the U.S. Open and the Davis Cup semi-final tie.
He expects to return to action in 2018.
“All the doctors I’ve consulted, and all the specialists I have visited, in Serbia and all over the world, have agreed that this injury requires rest,” Djokovic wrote on his website. “A prolonged break from the sport is inevitable. I’ll do whatever it takes to recover.”
The 12-time Grand Slam winner says that he will also work to improve his tennis skills that he has been unable to work on due to a demanding schedule in recent years.
Djokovic and his wife, Jelena, are expecting their second child this year.
“It is the most important for me to recover,” Djokovic said, “to be able to play injury free for as long as possible, to compete in the sport that has given me so much, the sport I love.”
Djokovic also wrote that the elbow is bothersome when he serves, as well as when playing forehand shots.
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