Djokovic Returns to Beijing: The King of the China Open

Novak Djokovic is going back to Beijing, to the tournament he once turned into his personal fortress.

Almost a decade after he last ruled the China Open, the 39-year-old has confirmed he will return to the National Tennis Centre, a place where he never learned how to lose.

King of Beijing comes back

Djokovic has not played the China Open since 2015, the year he completed a four-in-a-row streak in Beijing and lifted his sixth title in seven years. His last appearance there ended with a ruthless 6–2, 6–2 dismantling of Rafael Nadal in the final, another entry in a catalogue of dominance that stretched from 2009 to 2015.

In that span, the numbers are blunt:

• 2009: beat Marin Cilic, 6–2, 7–6
• 2010: beat David Ferrer, 6–2, 6–4
• 2012: beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 7–6, 6–2
• 2013: beat Rafael Nadal, 7–6, 6–3
• 2014: beat Tomas Berdych, 6–0, 6–2
• 2015: beat Rafael Nadal, 6–2, 6–2

Six titles. Seven seasons. No defeats. Beijing became shorthand for inevitability whenever Djokovic’s name appeared in the draw.

Now he is going back.

A message to China – and a point to prove

Hints of a return surfaced earlier this month when Djokovic appeared on the China Open entry list alongside Jannik Sinner and US Open champion Alexander Zverev. Speculation ended when the Serb addressed fans directly on Instagram.

"I'm very happy to announce that I'm coming back after many years to play in Beijing at the China Open," he said in a message on his story, confirming what the entry list had already suggested.

He called the National Tennis Centre “one of the nicest venues we have in tennis,” and spoke of “incredible memories and great success” in the Chinese capital. He also thanked Chinese fans for their “continuous love and support for so many years,” signing off with a simple promise: he cannot wait to perform in front of them again.

This return is not just about nostalgia. It follows one of the sharpest jolts of his Grand Slam career.

At the US Open, Djokovic crashed out in the first round to Mariano Navone, his first opening-round defeat at a major since the 2006 Australian Open. For a player who has built a career on bending time and history to his will, that kind of loss stings. Beijing offers something different: familiarity, control, and a court where his record still feels untouchable.

The setting could hardly be better for a reset.

Sinner the new standard-bearer

When Djokovic last walked off the Beijing court in 2015, he did so as the undisputed ruler of the event. The landscape he returns to has shifted.

The most recent champion is Jannik Sinner, who captured the 2025 title with the kind of clean, clinical performance that has become his trademark. The Italian swept aside Learner Tien 6–2, 6–2 in the final, dictating from the baseline and never loosening his grip on the match.

The numbers told the story: 24 winners, 16 unforced errors from Sinner; 11 winners and 18 unforced errors from Tien. The gap in control and conviction was obvious.

"It is a very, very special place for me," Sinner said during the trophy presentation, speaking to how quickly Beijing has become part of his own rise. He thanked his team for “understanding and working” with him, noting that not all of them were present but hoping they were watching from home. The message was clear: this was a shared project, and Beijing was another step, not a destination.

He backed that up by rolling through the rest of 2025, adding titles in Vienna, Paris and Turin. If Djokovic once set the standard in Beijing, Sinner is now one of the men defining it.

Old champion, familiar stage

So the scene is set.

Djokovic returns as the most decorated man in China Open history, a six-time champion trying to rebound from a rare early slam exit. Sinner arrives as the reigning winner and one of the sport’s new reference points. Zverev comes in as a US Open champion. The field is deeper, younger, more impatient.

Beijing has seen Djokovic at his most untouchable. The question now is simple and sharp: can the king of this court still command it, or is this the tournament where the next era plants its flag for good?