Novak Djokovic’s wife, Jelena, has been a staple in his camp throughout his career.
According to Express, the couple started dating when Djokovic was just 18 years old. They’re now married with two children, Stefan and Tara, who are also frequently seen in the world No. 4’s box during matches.
Although Djokovic believes Jelena is the “love of his life”, he’s now revealed that his wife actually dated one of his old tennis rivals when they were younger, and the current world No. 4 even made fun of the player in question for trying to impress Jelena with a romantic gesture after a match.
He said, “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 in the regional tennis league and we won, an important match.”
“He took out his jersey and underneath the jersey he had a white shirt written, ‘Jelena, I love you. This is for you’. And we were like, ‘Oh my god that’s so lame, why would you do that?’ And then, ‘Who is this Jelena?’ And it was her,” he added.
Today, Jelena focuses her attention on the charity she founded with her husband, the Novak Djokovic Foundation. The 39-year-old is the CEO of the foundation, but back in the day, she was also a tennis player.
Although Djokovic never met Jelena while she was playing tennis, he did run in the same circles as her - and even played alongside one man who dated her before they got together.
