INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 11: Novak Djokovic of Serbia plays a backhand against Luca Nardi of Italy in their third round match during the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 11, 2024 in Indian Wells, California. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Novak Djokovic will not be hitting the court at the Miami Open this year.

The No. 1 ranked men’s tennis player announced that he would be withdrawing from the 2024 Miami Open, citing the need to balance his “private and professional schedule.”

Djokovic has won the event six times, with the most recent victory coming in 2016. He suffered a second round defeat at Indian Wells Monday to Luca Nardi.

The loss to Nardi was especially significant given the fact that Nardi was ranked No. 123 ahead of the matchup. This is the lowest-ranked player Djokovic has lost to at the ATP Masters 1000 or Grand Slam level, per Tennis 365.

Djokovic is 8-2 on the season but has not earned a title yet. He remains the No. 1 ranked player, and has said in the past that he would play less tournaments as he got older. He also is very focused on medaling at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“Novak is looking at the bigger picture…focusing on the red clay season (particularly Paris coming up ) then Wimbledon and then back to Paris for the Olympic Games again on clay,” ESPN’s Patrick McEnroe told Adam Zagoria of Forbes. “Novak wants a medal badly.”

Djokovic won three of four majors in 2023, but notably lost in the Australian Open semi-finals to Jannik Sinner in January.

The Miami Open is set to begin March 22.