"Has Novak Djokovic lost his voice?";"I’ll believe it when I see it" - Fans annoyed by Italian tennis chief's bold ATP Finals announcement about Serb

Novak Djokovic will feature at the 2025 ATP Finals in Turin, announced the President of Italian Tennis and Padel Federation, Angelo Binaghi, recently. However, several tennis fans questioned the accuracy of Binaghi's confirmation, suggesting that since the Serb himself didn't confirm it, there's still a likelihood of him withdrawing from the prestigious year-end event.

During a recent appearance on Rai Gr Parlamento radio, Binaghi claimed the former No. 1 and 24-time Major champion, who hasn't played competitively since the Shanghai Masters, had privately confirmed his ATP Finals participation, saying:

"We have confirmation that Djokovic will play (in Turin)."

The news though, prompted several tennis fans on X (formerly Twitter) to adopt a rather sceptical attitude towards Angelo Binaghi's words about Novak Djokovic playing at the 2025 ATP Finals.

"Has he lost his voice? Is there a reason why he himself can't just confirm it either way? 🤣 building up the tension, not to mention the added attention🙄 is he? Isn't he? I can hardly contain my excitement," one fan wrote. "I’ll believe it when I see it. Maybe organisers are spreading these rumours in order to sell tickets. Without Novak they will not fill the arena?," commented another. "“Privately” and then big Ange goes and makes it public," another fan chimed in. "Even Novak’s farts have more value than Binaghi’s words," opined one. "Binaghi of all people announcing this," another added. "Novak didn't confirm anything lmao," weighed in yet another fan.

Novak Djokovic to make Athens debut against Alejandro Tabilo before potentially heading to Turin for ATP Finals

Novak Djokovic in action at the 2025 Six Kings Slam (Source: Getty)

The Serb is currently in Athens for the ATP 250 Hellenic Championship, where he is the top seed and is slated to get his campaign underway with a second-round clash against Alejandro Tabilo from Chile. Tabilo is currently ranked World No. 89 in singles.

However, remarkably, the Chilean has a 2-0 head-to-head lead against Djokovic, having beaten the Serb at last year's Italian Open and this year's Monte-Carlo Masters, with both results being straight-set wins.

Ahead of his Athens debut, the former No. 1 told SDNA that nowadays, his primary motivation to compete isn't about winning titles.

"After the Olympic Games and my gold medal, many thought I would end my career. But I don't play only for titles. Of course, titles are a major source of motivation, but what drives me above all is the love of competition," the 100-time ATP Tour-level singles titlist said.

If the Serb does manage to register a first-ever win over Tabilo, he will go on to face either Eliot Spizzirri or Nuno Borges in the quarterfinals. As far as his ATP Finals participation goes this year, only time will tell if he does indeed travel to Turin to contest for a record-extending eighth title at the prestigious year-end event.

Edited by Sudipto Pati