Australian Open 2026: Tennis world erupts over five words in Novak Djokovic's speech after final

Tennis fans and commentators are questioning whether we've seen Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open for the last time after he made a very telling comment in his runner-up speech on Sunday night. Djokovic made a scintillating start against Carlos Alcaraz, but was ultimately overrun by his younger opponent 2-6 6-2 6-3 7-5.

At 22, Alcaraz became the youngest man to complete a career grand slam by winning all four majors. Djokovic was widely praised for his performance at age 38, but attention quickly turned to his post-match speech.

The 24-time grand slam champion made a very telling comment near the end of the speech that many believe indicates he won't be back in Melbourne in 2027. Rather than saying "see you next year" like he has before, the Serbian star said: "God knows what happens tomorrow let alone in six months or 12 months. It has been a great ride. I love you guys."

The five words that "it's been a great ride" immediately set tongues wagging around the tennis world, with Jim Courier and John McEnroe both of the belief it might have been a farewell. "It felt that way," Courier said on Channel 9.

"Only he knows for sure whether he will give it another shot here. But if that was goodbye, that was one great finish for him to make it as far as he did, to have that win against Jannik Sinner and the way the semi-final did kind of feel like that was his final.

"He knew it was going to be very, very difficult to get past both of these guys, and he just didn’t have the legs in him to do it."

Tennis world reacts to Novak Djokovic's speech

On ESPN, McEenroe said: "What a class act Novak was in his speech, how gracious that was. It was really a beautiful thing to see, and he hasn't gotten sort of the love that he’' wanted over the years, but he's gonna get it certainly, for what remains in his career, and obviously, having not committed to next year, who knows?

Patrick McEnroe added: "I think this meant a lot to him. It certainly meant a lot to his fans, you know, what he was able to do here. And I think he expressed that well.

"And I think he also realised how much it took for him to beat Sinner, to play as well as he did against Alcaraz. And you just have to start to wonder when you hear him talk. You know, is the end maybe near?"

Djokovic's speech was the talk of social media on Sunday night. Many praised the 38-year-old for his class and grace in defeat, and many more latched onto the "great ride" line and wondered whether we'll see him Down Under again.

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