Jelena Djokovic Reveals Painful Truth
The wife of the world's top tennis player opens up about her family's difficult period, bankruptcy, and struggle for education, highlighting her mother Vera as her greatest role model.
The wife of the world's top tennis player opens up about her family's difficult period, bankruptcy, and struggle for education, highlighting her mother Vera as her greatest role model.
As Novak Djokovic prepares for the continuation of the season on the North American tour, his wife Jelena has shared an intimate family story that reveals how life alongside one of the greatest athletes of all time was not always shrouded in glamour and wealth. In a candid confession, Jelena spoke about the financial collapse that struck her family in her youth.
"My family was well-off, and then we went bankrupt. We managed, we went through it all. On my mother's muscles, with the immense will, desire, and strength that my sister and I possess, which she didn't have, we both went abroad to study," Jelena Djokovic recalled for Hello, as reported by Dnevno.hr. Her mother, Vera, unlike Novak's parents, Srdjan and Dijana, whose family roots are in Croatia, has always stayed away from the public eye.
Jelena does not hide how much her mother inspired her during the toughest moments. "I believe that women acquire many qualities by watching their parents, especially their mothers. My mother gave birth to my sister and me early, raised us, and worked constantly," she stated. She added that nothing was ever too hard for her. "Nothing was too difficult for her; she fought like a devil to secure us a quality life and education in very tough conditions," Jelena said, as reported by Blic.
Alongside her mother's strength, her father's support was also crucial. "The most beautiful thing is that I saw in my father approval and reinforcement of that lioness trait in my mother. Because of such parents, my sister and I try to be independent. We don't wait for things to fall into our laps; we fight for them. I would advise other young women to fight with all their hearts for what they believe in," Djokovic's wife conveyed.
Although today they are a harmonious family with son Stefan (born in October 2014) and daughter Tara (born in September 2017), Jelena and Novak went through serious challenges at the beginning of their life together. After moving to Monte Carlo, Jelena got a job at an oil company, which brought their relationship to the brink.
"Three years into our relationship, we reached a turning point. We decided to live together, but in Monaco, it was hard to find a job. Everything there is 'closed,' but by chance, I got a job at an oil company," she recounted. The office job meant she could no longer keep up with Novak's pace. "I worked there for a year, and it was an impossible mission for our relationship. At one point, Novak told me we couldn't function like that anymore," she recalled for Svet.
"Even while I was studying, I knew exactly when I was free and when I could devote myself to him. But at work, I spent my days in the office, and our relationship was put to the test. So we started looking for another solution," she added. The crisis was eventually overcome, and the couple married in July 2014 at a ceremony in Sveti Stefan, Montenegro.
Today, Jelena runs the Novak Djokovic Foundation and accompanies her husband on his sporting endeavors. Novak, the owner of a record 24 Grand Slam titles, is currently recharging his batteries on a summer break on the Montenegrin coast before heading to the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati and the US Open. He has repeatedly indicated his desire to compete at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where he would defend the gold medal he won in 2024 in Paris.
