Novak Djokovic on arm injury: ‘I hope it gets better every day’ | ATP Tour
Match the Reaction
Djokovic with arm injury: ‘I hope it gets better every day’
38-year-old Serbian opens up about injury and previews Draper clash
March 09, 2026
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Novak Djokovic is playing for the 17th time in the BNP Paribas Open.
Written by Jerome Coombe
Novak Djokovic admitted he is dealing with a “weird” right arm problem after reaching the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells for the first time since 2017.
The five-time champion needed three sets in both of his opening matches at the ATP Masters 1000 event and wore a compression sleeve on his right arm as he trudged through the opening rounds. Despite the physical concerns, the Serbian, 38, has continued to find solutions on the court, most recently battling Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 on Monday.
“I’ve been struggling the last few weeks with that forehand and I’m trying to get through it,” Djokovic told Tennis Channel after his third-round win. “It’s weird: The more I feed, the better I feel, but then it turns on and off when I’m cold.
“If I don’t play for five or six minutes I feel like the first couple of that match hurts a little bit. I deal with it. It’s nothing I’ve dealt with before. The ins and outs of being a tennis player at this level, but the whole body feels good. I hope it gets better every day.”
Next up for Djokovic is defending champion Jack Draper in the fourth round, a meeting that promises to test the veteran’s mettle. Djokovic won his only Lexus ATP Head2Head match at Wimbledon in 2021, although Draper has improved rapidly in the years since.
“I try to control my body and my state of mind every day so that I can wake up as good as possible on a given day,” said Djokovic, the No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings. “Then, of course, there’s a challenge and an obstacle in every net. It’s not going to be easy from here… Jack Draper is next, he’s the defending champion and he’s playing at a very high level again, but I like the challenge.
“That’s one of the biggest reasons why I’m still here and competing with these guys. I want to see how they beat me – if they can – and that drives me every day to get better and prove to others that I can still play at a high level.”
In Indian Wells, Djokovic is competing in his second tour-level event of 2026 after opening the year by reaching the final of the Australian Open, where he fell to world number 1 Carlos Alcaraz. Meanwhile, Draper has also recovered from the injury, which kept him out for five months.
“Novak is a big challenge,” said Draper, who is competing in his third major event of the season. “For me, he is the greatest player of all time. I respect him a lot, what he did for the game and what he is doing. I am looking forward to that game. That is what I have put all my work into.”
