Jelena Djokovic — formerly Ristic — has been Novak’s wife for a decade. The couple started dating in 2005 and got engaged in September 2013. They tied the knot in July 2014, with Novak honouring their eighth wedding anniversary on Wimbledon’s Centre Court in 2022 after his victory over Nick Kyrgios in the final. Retiring presenter Sue Barker reminded the Serb of the occasion, who said: “I’m going to buy you flowers after this.
“You keep reminding me of things I would be in big trouble if I forgot.” Their son Stefan was born in October 2014 and Djokovic confirmed he was a father again three years later. The pair announced daughter Tara was born in September 2017, with Jelena having been noticeably absent from the player’s box during her husband’s matches at Wimbledon the same year. Jelena is a huge fan of Instagram, regularly sharing loved up snaps with her husband on her profile.
But their relationship hasn’t always been smooth sailing. In 2019 they were dogged by split rumours when Jelena didn’t attend any of his tennis matches at Wimbledon.
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Novak Djokovic spotted on pitch at Serbia’s Euro 2024 clash just hours after he was practicing at Wimbledon
The couple insisted this was down to their daughter Tara being too young to attend, but their fifth wedding anniversary on July 10 also went unmarked in public — a stark contrast to the previous year, when Jelena posted a doting anniversary message: “Love loving you my love.” It followed comments by tennis pundit John McEnroe in July 2017, who suggested Djokovic’s run of poor form was due to “off-court issues with the family”.
He even likened his downward slide to that of golfer Tiger Woods, who split from his wife Elin Nordegren when it was revealed he’d cheated on her with 120 women. “Woods had the issues with his wife and then he seemed to go completely off the rails and has never been even close to being the same player,” John said. “So we’re starting to say: ‘Wait a minute, is this possible with him, Djokovic?'” Novak was surprised by the comments, but issued a gentlemanly response: “He has his right to say the things he wants to say.
I don’t necessarily need to agree with that. But it’s his right.” In 2020 Jelana revealed how she has struggled with the public attention she gets from being married to one of the greatest sportsmen of all time. She has claimed that being criticised for the way she looks had a negative effect on her, with social media also putting a strain on her life. Speaking to Vesti-Online about living in the spotlight, she said: “When you are young, the spotlight and attention certainly feel comfortable. “At first, the experience does not alarm you because it can bring you some difficulties.
We look at public figures and think that kind of publicity is okay. “But as time goes on, you lack anonymity, you lack the privacy to be able to do whatever you like at any time, in any situation. “I try to resist all these expectations to always be myself and for Novak to be able to be himself.” Addressing comments made about her, she added: “That is probably why I am being criticised by the public ‘why didn’t I wear makeup’ or ‘why wasn’t I always wearing heels’.” Jelena is also the director of their charity, the Novak Djokovic Foundation, which aims to help children in Serbia realise their dreams by improving the country’s education system.
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