Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic is a professional tennis player from Serbia.

He is widely considered one of the greatest athletes in the history of the sport. Djokovic has achieved many record-breaking milestones in men's singles tennis. He has held the world No. 1 ranking for a record 428 weeks. He also finished as the year-end No. 1 player a record eight times. Throughout his career, he has held the top ranking for at least one year across 13 different years. His dominance is reflected in his 101 ATP Tour–level singles titles.

Djokovic has achieved unprecedented success in major tournaments. He holds a record 24 major titles. This total includes a record ten titles at the Australian Open. He 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. He is also the only player to complete a Career Golden Masters twice. This means he won all the most important tournaments on the tour. He has won all of the "Big Titles" during his career.

His journey began with early training and significant personal challenges. Born on 22 May 1987 in Belgrade, Djokovic started playing tennis at age four. His parents gave him a mini-racket and a soft foam ball. A coach named Jelena Genčić worked with him for six years. She taught him to hit his backhand with two hands. This was different from his idol, Pete Sampras, who used one hand. During the Yugoslav Wars in the late 1990s, Djokovic faced difficult conditions. He once had to train inside a disused swimming pool that was used as a tennis court.

To support his education, his father took out high-interest loans. This placed immense pressure on Djokovic to succeed. In 1999, he moved to the Pilić tennis academy in Germany. There, he spent several months serving against a wall to improve his technique. He also performed wrist flexibility exercises with a rubber band for a full year. He began his professional career in 2003. In 2008, at age 20, he won his first major title at the Australian Open. This victory disrupted the 11-consecutive-major winning streak held by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

By 2010, fans and commentators began calling Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic the "Big Three." Djokovic had a massive season in 2011. He reached No. 1 for the first time that year. He won three majors and five Masters titles. He also went 10–1 against his main rivals, Nadal and Federer. His most successful season came in 2015. That year, he reached 15 consecutive finals. He won 10 Big Titles and earned 31 victories against top-10 players.

In 2016, Djokovic reached a peak of dominance. He won the French Open to complete his career Grand Slam. He also achieved a non-calendar year Grand Slam. He was the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four majors at the same time. During this period, he set a rankings points record of 16,950. Although an elbow injury in 2017 weakened his results, he returned to greatness. He won the 2018 Wimbledon title while ranked No. 21 in the world. He later reclaimed the Australian Open trophy in 2023.

Djokovic is also a leader and a philanthropist. He co-founded the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) with Vasek Pospisil. He created this group to help players have more influence on the tour. He also advocates for better prize money for lower-ranked players. As a philanthropist, he founded the Novak Djokovic Foundation. This organization supports children from disadvantaged communities. He was also appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2015.

Beyond the court, Djokovic is a man of many talents and honors. He speaks six languages: Serbian, English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. He has represented Serbia in many international competitions. He led his national team to the Davis Cup crown in 2010 and the ATP Cup in 2020. He won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In 2024, he won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics. He has received several honors, including the Order of Karađorđe Star. He has also been named the BTA Best Balkan Athlete of the Year eight times.