2014 French Open semifinalist Andrea Petkovic and former five-time Grand Slam doubles champion Rennae Stubbs think there are definitely double standards involved in how Novak Djokovic gets treated for playing so little in 2024 as they believe Serena Williams would be bashed and that would be used to make negative narratives about women’s tennis.
This past season, the 37-year-old appeared in just 12 tournaments and had the most limited schedule of his career, considering that the only injury he battled was the one sustained at the French Open. Throughout the year, the Serb was fixating his schedule and that resulted in him missing some of the biggest events – he didn’t play at the Masters events in Miami, Madrid, Montreal, Cincinnati, Paris, as well as the ATP Finals.
For some, it wasn’t surprising because Djokovic didn’t hide that his main focus and goal was to be at his best at the Paris Olympics. And in the end, he succeeded in that goal – won his first Olympic gold medal in Paris – and completed his resume. However, it was his first and lone title of the year.
After the Paris Olympics which ended in early August, the world No. 7 played just two tournaments on the main level – the US Open and the Shanghai Masters.
“Just to think about Serena doing the same thing, only 12…
