Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player. Djokovic has been ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals for a record 428 weeks, finished as the year-end No. 1 a record eight times, and has been ranked No. 1 at least once in a year for a record 13 different years. He has won 101 ATP Tour–level singles titles, including a record 24 majors, a record 40 Masters, a record seven year-end championships, and an Olympic gold medal. Djokovic is the only man in tennis history to be the reigning champion of all four majors at once across three different surfaces. In singles, he is the only man to achieve a triple Career Grand Slam, and the only player to complete a Career Golden Masters, a feat he has accomplished twice. Djokovic is the only player in singles to have won all of the Big Titles over the course of his career.
Djokovic began his professional career in 2003. In 2008, at age 20, he disrupted Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's streak of 11 consecutive majors by winning his first major title at the Australian Open. By 2010, Djokovic had begun to separate himself from the rest of the field and, as a result, the trio of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic was referred to as the "Big Three" among fans and commentators. In 2011, Djokovic ascended to No. 1 for the first time, winning three majors and a then-record five Masters titles while going 10–1 against Nadal and Federer. He remained the most successful player in men's tennis for the rest of the decade. Djokovic had his most successful season in 2015, reaching a record 15 consecutive finals and winning 10 Big Titles while earning 31 victories over top-10 players. His dominant run extended through to the 2016 French Open, where he completed the career Grand Slam and a non-calendar year Grand Slam, becoming the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four majors simultaneously and setting a rankings points record of 16,950.
In 2017, Djokovic suffered from an elbow injury that weakened his results until the 2018 Wimbledon Championships, where he won the title while ranked No. 21 in the world. Djokovic then returned to a dominant status, winning 11 more major titles and completing his second and third career Grand Slams. Due to his opposition to the COVID-19 vaccine, he skipped many tournaments in 2022, notably the Australian Open and the US Open, being [|deported from the country in the former case]. One year after the Australian visa controversy, he made a successful comeback to reclaim the 2023 Australian Open trophy, and shortly after claimed the all-time record for most men's singles majors titles. In 2024, he became the only player to complete a career sweep of the Big Titles.
Representing Serbia, Djokovic led the national tennis team to the Davis Cup crown in 2010 and the ATP Cup crown in 2020. In singles, he won the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He is a recipient of the Order of Karađorđe Star, Order of St. Sava, and the Order of the Republika Srpska. He has been named the BTA Best Balkan Athlete of the Year a record eight times.
Beyond competition, Djokovic was elected as the president of the ATP Player Council in 2016. He stepped down in 2020 to front a new player-only tennis association, the Professional Tennis Players Association, which he co-founded with Vasek Pospisil, citing the need for players to have more influence on the tour and advocating better prize money structure for lower-ranked players. Djokovic is an active philanthropist. He is the founder of the Novak Djokovic Foundation, which is committed to supporting children from disadvantaged communities. Djokovic was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2015.
Early and personal life
Novak Djokovic was born on 22 May 1987 in Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia, to Dijana and Srdjan Djokovic. He is of paternal Serbian and maternal Croatian descent. His two younger brothers, Marko and Djordje, have also played professional tennis.Djokovic began playing tennis at the age of four, after his parents gave him a mini-racket and a soft foam ball, which his father said became "the most beloved toy in his life". His parents then sent him to a tennis camp in Novi Sad. In the summer of 1993, as a six-year-old, he met Jelena Genčić at a tennis camp she was overseeing at Mount Kopaonik, where Djokovic's parents ran a fast-food parlour. Genčić worked with Djokovic over the following six years, convincing him to hit his backhand with two hands instead of the single hand used by his idol, Pete Sampras. Djokovic has credited Genčić for "shaping my mind as a human being, but also as a professional".
During the Yugoslav Wars in the late 1990s, Serbia had to endure embargoes and NATO bombings because of the Kosovo War. At one point Djokovic had to train inside a disused swimming pool converted into a tennis court. Due to his rapid development, Genčić contacted Nikola Pilić and in September 1999, Djokovic moved to the Pilić tennis academy in Oberschleißheim, Germany, spending four years there. Pilić made him spend several months serving against a wall for to improve his technique, and he had him doing wrist flexibility exercises for a year with a rubber exercise band.
His father also took him to train at academies in the United States, Italy, and Germany. Because of the high cost of traveling and training his father took out high-interest loans to help pay for his son's tennis education, putting Djokovic under immense pressure to deliver.
He met his future wife, Jelena Ristić, in high school, and began dating her in 2005. The two became engaged in September 2013, and on 10 July 2014 the couple were married on Montenegro's Sveti Stefan island, in the Serbian Orthodox Church of Saint Stephen. He and Ristić had their first child, a boy, in October 2014. Their daughter was born in 2017.
Djokovic is a self-described fan of languages, speaking Serbian, English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish to varying levels of proficiency.
Career
2000s
2001–2003: Juniors
In 2001, Djokovic won his first title in a second-category tournament in Messina on the U14 circuit of the Tennis Europe Junior Tour, defeating compatriot Bojan Božović in the final, and his second in Livorno, where he beat top seed Andy Murray in the semifinals and second seed Aljoscha Thron in the final. In July, he won the U14 European Championship in Sanremo, defeating Lukáš Lacko in singles and the doubles with Božović against Russians Alexandre Krasnoroutskiy and Mikhail Bekker. He led Yugoslavia to victory in the European Summer Cup, finishing the year as European champion in singles, doubles, and team events. He also earned a silver medal at the ITF World Junior Championship U14 team competition for Yugoslavia. Djokovic ended 2001 ranked No. 1 on the ETA U14 list, with Andy Murray in second place.In 2002, now competing in U16 events, Djokovic won two major tournaments in France: the Derby Cadets in La Baule, defeating Gaël Monfils in the final, and Le Pontet in Avignon. In September, he won his first ITF title in Pančevo, winning all matches in straight sets, including over No. 1 seed David Savić in the final. In November, Djokovic won the Prince Cup in Miami, defeating Stephen Bass in the final, shortly before competing at the Junior Orange Bowl, where he reached the third round before losing to Marcos Baghdatis.
Overall, Djokovic compiled a 40–11 singles and 23–6 doubles record in juniors, achieving a combined junior world ranking of No. 24 in February 2004. His best junior Grand Slam result was reaching the semifinals of the 2004 Australian Open. He also competed at the 2003 French Open and 2003 US Open.
2003–2005: Start of professional career
Djokovic played his first professional match in January 2003 at a Futures event in Oberschleißheim after receiving a wildcard from Niki Pilić, narrowly losing to Alex Rădulescu. He won his first Futures title in Belgrade later that year and ended 2003 ranked No. 687. In 2004, he recorded his first official ATP win during a Davis Cup match against Janis Skroderis, and later claimed his first Challenger title in Budapest on his 17th birthday, beating Daniele Bracciali in the final. He debuted on the ATP Tour main draw at the Croatia Open Umag and secured his first victory at a tournament in Bucharest, ending the year ranked No. 186.Djokovic's Grand Slam debut came at the 2005 Australian Open, followed by his first Slam win at the French Open. That year, he also reached the third round at both Wimbledon and the US Open, where he beat Gaël Monfils and Mario Ančić. He impressed at the Paris Masters by reaching the third round after defeating Mariano Puerta, ending the year ranked world No. 78 as the youngest player in the top 100.
2006: First ATP titles and major quarterfinal
In April 2006, Djokovic won both of his singles matches at a Davis Cup match against Great Britain, leading Serbia and Montenegro to victory. Following this, his family reportedly had discussions with the Lawn Tennis Association about representing Great Britain. Djokovic, then world No. 63, initially dismissed the story, calling it a kind gesture following the tie. In 2009, he confirmed the talks were serious but chose to represent Serbia, stating he was "proud of being a Serbian" and that he "didn’t want to spoil that just because another country had better conditions".At the French Open, Djokovic, then world No. 63, defeated ninth seed Fernando González en route to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, where, due to issues with his back, he retired against Rafael Nadal after two sets in their first career meeting, launching their historic rivalry. At Wimbledon, he reached the fourth round before losing to Mario Ančić in five sets. Djokovic claimed his first ATP title at the Dutch Open in Amersfoort, defeating Nicolás Massú in the final without dropping a set. He won his second title at the Moselle Open in Metz, beating Jürgen Melzer, and broke into the top 20. He also made his first Masters quarterfinal at Madrid. He ended the season ranked No. 16, the youngest in the top 20.