Novak and Jelena Djokovic were high school sweethearts before tying the knot in 2014
Novak Djokovic is one of the greatest tennis stars on the planet and has been hitched to his better half, Jelena Djokovic (previously Ristic), starting around 2014.
As a philanthropic attempting to better the existences of hindered kids in Serbia and a mother of two children, Jelena keeps herself occupied. Be that as it may, she actually carves out opportunity to applaud her significant other at a considerable lot of his tennis matches.
In August 2024, the world watched Novak win his very first gold decoration at the Paris Olympics. Following the significant triumph, the tennis player rushed toward Jelena in the stands, where they embraced and kissed with tears in their eyes.
“I don’t know what to say, I’m still in shock. I put my heart, my soul, my body, my family, my everything on the line to win Olympic gold,” Novak said during a post-match interview. “At age 37, I finally did it.”
So, who is Novak’s longtime love? Here’s everything to know about Jelena Djokovic.
She and Novak met in high school
Jelena and Novak were together for several years before getting married in 2014. In fact, the two have known each other since they were young — they attended the same high school together in their home country of Serbia.
The pair first got together while attending and playing tennis at school, and dated for eight years before getting engaged in 2013 in Monte Carlo, where Novak was living at the time.
She went to college in Milan
Jelena and Novak were together as Novak’s tennis vocation was taking off, yet Jelena had her own investigations to zero in on. She once told Hi! that she had for a long time needed to go to college abroad, adding that since her folks couldn’t subsidize that sort of training, it “involved me being the absolute smartest understudy in rudimentary and secondary school, to win grants.”
Her work paid off, and she ended up going to Bocconi University in Milan, where she studied luxury brand management.
Despite the long distance and their busy schedules, the pair found a way to make their romance work.
“Us getting together was like science fiction almost,” Jelena told Hello!. “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.”
“Airplanes were, at the time, something utterly out of our reach,” she continued. “We contrived and devised these plans how to meet, how to make our relationship work.” When Jelena was done with college, the two moved in together in Monte Carlo, where she got a temporary job at an oil company.
She’s a humanitarian
Not long after moving to Monte Carlo with Novak, Jelena ended up leaving her job at the oil company, telling Hello! she was at the office for so long that it was negatively affecting her relationship with Novak. “At certain point, Novak told me, ‘Darling, we cannot go on like this,’ ” she said.
After leaving her position, Jelena went on to act as the National Director of the couple’s charity organization, the Novak Djokovic Foundation. As she explained to HuffPost, Novak and his family created the organization in 2007 to help disadvantaged children in Serbia by giving them access to early childhood education.
Jelena has dabbled in some modeling as well. In 2013, she was announced as the face of lingerie and swimwear brand Figleaves.com.
They got married right after Novak won Wimbledon
Jelena and Novak tied the knot in 2014, a little less than a week after Novak won his second Wimbledon championship. The ceremony took place in Sveti Stefan, a small coastal town in Montenegro.
PEOPLE reported at the time that the nuptials took place outdoors. The couple said their vows in a gazebo surrounded by pine trees while 100 guests looked on.
In July 2024, Jelena and Novak celebrated 10 years of marriage.
“Ten years of joy. Ten years of dreams. Ten years as one. Ten years of fun,” the tennis star wrote on Instagram. “Ten years of you. The best part of me. I love you forever.”
She’s a mom of two
Jelena was pregnant with the couple’s most memorable kid when they sealed the deal. On Oct. 22, 2014, she brought forth their child, Stefan Djokovic.
Jelena brought forth their little girl, Tara Djokovic, in September 2017. In an Instagram post declaring Tara’s introduction to the world, Novak stated, “Exceptionally cheerful and glad to invite our daughter Tara to our home. Jelena and I have been connected at the hip on their excursion and as a man, I need to send my affection and deference to each and every ladies out there for going through such a lot of torment and work to make life, to bring life and raise a person … what a gift to have a potential chance to be a parent!”
He added, “Jelena and Tara are my holy messengers, and Stefan is a glad elder sibling who needs to participate in child tasks.”
The couple’s family additionally incorporates two canines — poodles named Pierre and Tesla that Jelena consistently flaunt on Instagram. In 2019, Pierre turned 11, and Jelena shared a recognition for the little guy, saying, “perpetually our child, everlastingly my most memorable kid.”
She’s very supportive of her husband
As one of the biggest male tennis stars in the world, Novak lives an extremely busy lifestyle — and Jelena is there for him every step of the way. She once told the Daily Mail that although she gets “passionate” while watching Novak play, she has to be cautious about showing too much emotion.
“I have to be careful as I don’t want to get too emotional and distract Novak. It’s about what the guys want,” she says. “We don’t want them to see us get emotional. When I’m at home watching him on the TV, I get even more passionate because I know the cameras aren’t on me.”
Jelena has watched Novak win at Wimbledon, the Australian Open, the French Open and the U.S. Open, among many other major tournaments.
In March 2021, Novak broke the record for most weeks as the world’s No. 1 tennis player.
“Celebrating Novak’s tennis LOVE AFFAIR that has been going on for quite some time…. And everyone knows about it (and wife doesn’t mind at all lol),” Jelena joked on Instagram at the time.
Novak now holds 24 Grand Slam singles titles and is a gold medalist. He achieved his longtime goal at the 2024 Paris Olympics in August 2024.
She stays active
Jelena has been known to spend time working out, especially with Novak! On Nov. 30, 2022, she posted a video of the couple hiking La Concha summit in Spain. The montage showed the two walking on paths and climbing rocks. “Boys…. This was quite a hike 💪🙌🏼,” she wrote in the caption.”From freezing to melting, from bottom to the top and back down again… and we made it.”
Later that day, she shared photos from the outing in a separate carousel post. “Another summit ✅ 🏔,” she wrote.
She’s also posted about doing Capoeira, a form of martial arts. On Dec. 29, 2022, Jelena shared a video of herself working with her instructor.