The ‘challenge’ Novak Djokovic issued to Serena Williams earlier this year now looks really interesting

Novak Djokovic is arguably the last remnant of a legendary generation that dominated tennis for over a decade.

He, alongside Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on the men’s side, and Serena Williams on the women’s side, was an overwhelming force that seemingly won every elite event that was on offer.

And whilst he will have likely been glad to see the back of his two great rivals, given all the trouble they caused him, his relationship with the American superstar will have naturally been different.

After all, as the 24-time Grand Slam champion did not compete directly with her for the sport’s top prizes, he will only have great respect for what she accomplished in a different facet of their sport.

It’s unlikely you’d see Novak Djokovic rushing Nadal and Federer back to action in the same way he did with Serena earlier this year.

When Novak Djokovic challenged Serena Williams to return to tennis

Speaking at the US Open back in August, the 39-year-old spoke about how much he enjoyed watching Maria Sharapova’s induction into the Tennis Hall of Fame.

What capped off that moment was Serena’s emergence to present the accolade, with Djokovic taking time to laud these two legends of the sport.

However, he concluded by challenging the 42-year-old, willing her to make a comeback.

He claimed: “And, of course, seeing Serena, you know, in any shape or form around tennis is great.

“You know, we miss her. And she still hasn’t officially retired, so I invite her. I challenge her because she’s such a great competitor. So when somebody challenges her, she never refuses. So I challenge Serena. Come back on a Tour next year.”

Given the fact that Serena Williams has hinted at a comeback to tennis in the last week with a leaked document, these comments have been made even more interesting.

Does Novak Djokovic know something we don’t about Serena Williams’ comeback?

Whilst it’s unlikely that Djokovic has been made privy to Williams’ potential comeback, the timing of his comments is particularly intriguing given what has transpired in the last week.

After all, the 23-time major winner’s application to enter the ITIA’s Registered Testing Pool is indicative of a player keen on making a competitive appearance in 2026.

His comments are particularly interesting because of how he reiterated how she hadn’t officially retired, a notion that she has herself reaffirmed since her last match in 2022.

And, his assumption that she never backs down from a challenge would certainly be proven correct were she to re-emerge the very year after Djokovic’s call to arms.

This is surely nothing more than a coincidence, but what he said in that US Open press conference looks more and more intriguing as this story develops.