Novak Djokovic has been navigating an uneven stretch, with age and results beginning to bite into even his most reliable routines. The 24-time Grand Slam champion arrives at the China Open after consecutive first-round defeats in Cincinnati and at the US Open, where he fell to Thiago Agustin Tirante and Mariano Navone.

Now, Djokovic is scheduled to return to the Beijing event for the first time in 11 years. It is a move that deserves recognition, because he continues to test himself on the ATP Tour and to do so at a tournament he has largely avoided in recent seasons. Yet it also places one of the most impressive records of his career in jeopardy.

Djokovic has never lost a match at the China Open. He has won the tournament every time he has played it, building a perfect 29-0 record at the event. That streak will be on the line in Beijing, and given the form he has shown lately, a first defeat there is a real possibility.

The field only raises the difficulty. Six players from the ATP Tour top 10 are set to compete, including Alexander Zverev, a returning Jannik Sinner, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli, and Alex de Minaur.

Djokovic’s decision looks especially bold when the Japan Open in Tokyo is available in the same week. Carlos Alcaraz is entered there, but only four members of the top 10 are in that draw, among them Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, and Taylor Fritz.

For that reason, the choice to go back to Beijing has the feel of something larger than a simple schedule call. Djokovic will also be expected to play the Shanghai Masters the following week, making for a busy stretch at the start of the ATP Tour’s Asian swing.

The China Open runs from 30 September to 6 October. For Djokovic, it may be a defining test of whether this is another push forward or a final, world-spanning farewell in progress.

Juan Carlos Ferrero has sparked interest by saying he expects to come back to the tennis circuit in 2027, though he would not reveal the player involved.

Ferrero, who worked with Alcaraz for years before their split at the end of the 2026 season, has been away from tennis since then. Speaking to Movistar+, he said: “This year I’m very calm, enjoying my family and preparing for what’s coming next year. I think I’m going to return to the tennis circuit, but I can’t say with whom.”

The remark has prompted speculation about possible destinations, and one name that has repeatedly surfaced is Rafael Jodar. The young Spaniard has been one of the breakout players on the ATP Tour this season, climbing as high as world No 11. He is still coached only by his father, although he has indicated that he may begin assembling a wider coaching team ahead of the 2027 season.

Just hours after Ferrero’s comments, Jodar again discussed the arrangement he has with his father over the 2025 season. In an interview with Eurosport Spain, Jodar said: “The fact that my father is alone in the pit box is unusual on the circuit, as most players have many people in their pit boxes.

“It’s true that it’s the first year, and we’re trying to learn from every mistake we make and from what works, so we can do the same thing next year or learn from our errors. This year it’s working; things are going very well. We get along very well.

“He’s with me practically every week and travels with me. I know it’s not easy living with someone every week, but we get along very well. We’ve had a very good relationship since I was very little, and he’s always helped me a lot and always wants the best for me. That’s the most important thing.”

Ferrero’s coaching resume also includes Alexander Zverev between 2017 and 2018, a partnership that produced one Masters title. His best-known work remains with Carlos Alcaraz, which brought six Grand Slam titles.

Jodar now turns to Spain’s Davis Cup tie against Chile, where he is set to make his debut between September 19th and 20th. The winner will advance to the Davis Cup Finals in Bologna, Italy at the end of the year, adding significance to his first appearance.

The 2026 US Open has drawn criticism on several fronts, but the schedule has become one of the loudest complaints. With night sessions regularly stretching beyond midnight at Flushing Meadows, questions over player welfare have intensified after Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz played a quarter-final that ended several hours later than expected.

Shelton did not secure his place in the semi-finals until 03:33, a finish that many viewed as impossible to defend from a health perspective. The late hour has renewed frustration around how the tournament structures its marquee matches and whether the current system can realistically be sustained.

John Lloyd, long outspoken about the demands of the tennis calendar, offered a sharp rebuke of the event’s handling of the issue. Speaking on the Inside-In Tennis podcast, he argued that repeatedly finishing after midnight is incompatible with a workable product.

“It’s total utter nonsense. They keep saying, ‘Well, what are we going to do about it?’ There’s only one thing. You can’t have a product that finishes past midnight regularly. You cannot, it cannot work that way,” said Lloyd on the Inside-In Tennis podcast.

He added that moving the start time earlier is not a simple fix, given the unpredictability of afternoon matches and the demands of best-of-five-set contests.

“And you can’t start the matches any earlier because you don’t know what the afternoon matches are going to be like. When you’ve got best of five set matches, it’s unpredictable.

“And today’s best of five, it’s only going to get more and more because the physicality of these players, the match is going to go longer and longer and the everyone keeps saying, well, is there a way we can do something?

“Yes, you have a men’s best of three and a women’s best of three case. You can’t put two women’s on because the matches will you won’t have enough matches to go through the second week if you do that. And so, you know, a best of three set men’s and a best of three set women’s.”

Lloyd also said fans would accept a shorter format and dismissed the idea that longer matches are what make the sport compelling.

“That’s three hours minimum of tennis. That’s plenty. Why does tennis have to have five or six hours to make people happy? It’s nonsense. It’s total nonsense,” he said.

“And then the other argument is saying that it separates the men from the boys. Again, that’s nonsense. If that was the case, then the top players wouldn’t be winning the Masters Series.

“And the vast majority of the time when they’re focused, they do win it because the best players will win no matter what. They will come through.”

The issue was underlined by the numbers as well, with 25 matches in the men’s draw going the full five sets this year.