It's hard to tell from a distance, so you sort of need to check off the things you know it 'isn't' and work backward via the process of elimination

Have you checked for bugs? Mites, mealybug, and scale are the most likely to be an issue.

When you water, do you water in small sips or do you flush the soil?

Fertilizer? What kind? How much/often? NPK %s?

Any change in the plant's site recently? Change in light levels?

Plant subjected to cold drafts?

Has it ever been repotted? When last potted up?

Al

Hi,
Sorry for delay. I have owned it about a year or so and have never repotted it. The pot it is in does not have drainage holes. I have never fertilised the soil. I water it by soaking when I remember. Essentially it has been neglected. Please could you post a step by step of what to do and what I'll need? I appreciate your time and effort.

New leaves are growing on top but old ones are falling off.

No drainage holes in the pot is a big problem. I would suspect its roots have probably been rotting from too much water staying in the pot, and that's why it is starting to look so sad now. You would want to repot it into a pot with drainage holes ASAP into a soil mix that is very well draining.

Al has a good recipe for a soil mix that is very well draining and that many people have had good luck with. You may want to do a search for his posts about "gritty mix".

The true measure of growth isn't a function of how much elongation occurs in branches and stems, or even in how many new leaves appear on a plant. GROWTH is measured as a function of the increase in o/a plant mass; so if leaves and branches are being shed at roughly the same rate new ones are appearing, "growth" is probably very close to stagnant. The reason might be related to nutritional deficiencies or cultural limitations, or both. I can help you learn how to slow the rate of decline in your plant, or how to put in place a concept that can make all your efforts at container growing much easier and much closer to foolproof. Much of getting to that point centers on what you choose to use as home to your plant's roots. In most cases, out of sight means out of mind when roots are the topic, but overlooking the importance of root health is the most common and critical mistake container growers make; because, If the roots ain't happy, ain't no part of the plant happy.

If you're up for some reading, I'll give you a little assignment that will help you eliminate those things that are holding your plant back, if you apply what you learn. Click this embedded link to see what he's talking about.

After that, if you like, I'll link you to a thread specifically written to help growers with their ficus in containers, and to one that goes into a lot of detail explaining why getting your soil choice right is so important.

Let me know what your thoughts are and if you're interested in learning more.

Al