Major Novak Djokovic news confirmed with big implications for Wimbledon and his ranking

Novak Djokovic has undergone surgery on his knee following his withdrawal from the French Open and he is set to miss Wimbledon with the move also likely resulting in a drop down the rankings.

The 24-time Grand Slam winner delivered the injury devastating news on Tuesday as he confirmed his withdrawal from the clay-court Grand Slam as an MRI scan revealed a torn medial meniscus in the right knee.

The announcement came just hours after he won a tough five-setter against Francisco Cerundolo as he struggled physically and required treatment on his knee after slipping early in the content.

“I am really sad to announce that I have to withdraw from Roland Garros,” Djokovic said in a statement.

“I played with all my heart and gave my all in yesterday’s match and unfortunately, due to a medial meniscus tear in my right knee, my team and I had to make a tough decision after careful consideration and consultation.

“I wish the best of luck to the players competing this week and sincerely thank the incredible fans for all the love and continued support.”

On Wednesday it was confirmed that the tennis great has undergone successful surgery in a Parisian clinic to repair the damage and early reports suggest the recovery time will be anywhere from three to six weeks.

Djokovic was not due to play again until Wimbledon with the tournament getting on July 1, but chances of him playing at the grass-court Grand Slam are pretty remote.

There are now also question marks over his participation in the Olympics with the Paris Games starting on July 27.

Why Novak Djokovic could miss Wimbledon and the Olympics after French Open injury blow

Rankings Ramification

On the back of his Roland Garros withdrawal, Djokovic will lose the world No 1 ranking to Jannik Sinner and he will drop to No 3 in the ATP Rankings if Carlos Alcaraz goes on to win the title.

Djokovic is officially on 9,960 points in the ATP Rankings will drop 1,600 points after Roland Garros, which will leave him on 8,360 ahead of Wimbledon where he finished runner-up to Alcaraz last year.

If he doesn’t play at SW19 then he will drop another 1,200 points and that will effectively put him on 7,160 points and – depending on the results of his rivals below him – he could drop further down the rankings.

Alcaraz, of course, is the defending champion at Wimbledon and any early slip-ups at this year’s tournament could see him then drop below Djokovic again even if does end up winning the French Open.