Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic said on July 26 that he will miss the rest of the tennis season, including next month's U.S. Open, to recover from a right elbow injury.
The twelve-time Grand Slam champion posted a video on Facebook saying he had decided to let the injury heal after itcaused him to retire from play at Wimbledon this month.
"It's a decision that had to be made," he said. The injury "became very painful at Wimbledon,"he said later at a news conference, but he said surgery will not be necessary.
Djokovic has had a difficult year, losing all the grand slam titles he held simultaneously after winning the 2016 French Open. He also lost his world number one ranking to Andy Murray at the end of last year.
Djokovic now faces the possibility of being outside the top 10 when he returns at the start of next year, although he said he was already relishing the prospect of battling back to the top.
