Novak Djokovic says defending his Olympic title at the 2028 Los Angeles Games is one of his long-term goals, despite the Serbian superstar turning 41 when the Games open.
Djokovic won the tennis gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics a victory over Carlos Alcaraz, a victory that he described as the greatest sporting achievement of his legendary career. Now, despite being 38 years old, the 24-time Grand Slam champion has his sights set firmly on LA.
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“That’s one of the long-term goals, to get to the Olympics. That would be nice,” Djokovic told reporters after his second-round win over Kamil Majchrzak in Indian Wells on Saturday.
“There’s still a long way to go. I think at my age and at this stage in my career, every year feels like a longer period than it is for anyone younger. But I’ll try to do it, certainly one of the motivations, so I’ll try to be there.”
Should Djokovic make it to LA, he would become only the second man in history to successfully defend an Olympic gold medal in singles. Andy Murray is the only man to do so, winning back-to-back titles at London 2012 and Rio 2016. Djokovic won bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games before finally claiming the gold he longed for in Paris.
The world number three was back on court in Indian Wells for the first time since an impressive Australian Open run that included thrilling five-set semi-final victory over Jannik Sinner. After five weeks of competitive tennis, Djokovic showed some early rustiness before finding his rhythm to beat Majchrzak 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
“It’s good to be back on tour,” he said. “Five weeks without an official match, I knew the first match in so long would be a bit tricky with the conditions being quite challenging,” he added, referring to the windy conditions in the California desert.
Djokovic will face American Aleksandar Kovačević in the third round. But with Los Angeles 2028 already partly on his mind, it’s clear that the best tennis player of all time is far from finished.
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Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
08 Mar 2026 13:00 IST
