All is fair in love and tennis.
Novak Djokovic opened up about how his wife, Jelena, previously dated a good friend with whom he’s still close to this day — although they don’t dive into the awkwardness.
“He’s good. He moved on. He has his family. We actually never spoke about it,” Djokovic told Piers Morgan on his “Piers Morgan Uncensored” show published Tuesday. “We are both very uncomfortable about speaking (about it). We still remain mates, so it’s good.”
Djokovic, 38, made it clear that no silly business took place and he did not steal his friend’s partner, with the pair instead ending up together years down the road.
The Serbian star explained that while Jelena also played tennis, they never crossed paths during their playing days. Instead, he learned of her following some post-match antics.
“She dates one tennis player that is a friend of mine from early days. It was funny because the first time I heard about her was when that friend, who was in the same tennis club as me, played a match for the regional tennis league and we won an important match, he took off his jersey and underneath the jersey he had the white shirt written, ‘Jelena, I love you. This is for you,’” Djokovic said. “And we were like, ‘Oh my God, this is so lame. Why would you do that?’ And then who is this Jelena? And it was her.”
The pair eventually got to know each other through common friends, and he explained that they started dating when he went to live in Monte Carlo while Jelena studied in Italy.
Multiple reports stated Djokovic began dating his wife when he was 18.
Jelena previously told Hello Magazine that the two met while she was in high school.
“Us getting together was like science fiction almost. I was a student barely getting by, and he was a very young tennis player who also had no money to spare on expensive trips,” she told the outlet.
“Airplanes were, at the time, something utterly out of our reach. We contrived and devised these plans how to meet, how to make our relationship work.”
Djokovic revealed that Jelena is the longest serious relationship he has had in his dating life.
“Truly the love of my life,” he said on the show.
The couple celebrated their engagement in 2013 before getting married one year later.
They welcomed son Stefan in 2014 and daughter Tara in 2017.
Djokovic’s 2025 Grand Slam season included semifinal losses in all four events.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
