The 39-year-old is bidding to win a record 25th Grand Slam title at SW19 this year
Tennis player Novak Djokovic and his wife Jelena
Novak Djokovic will continue his bid to win a record 25th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon on Friday, as he takes on France’s 26th seed Arthur Rinderknech.
The 39-year-old is the most successful male tennis player in history, carving out a legendary status in the sport and counting seven Wimbledon titles amongst his remarkable stack of accolades. To this day, he remains the only man in the history of the sport to hold all four major titles simultaneously across three different surfaces.
Unsurprisingly, Djokovic’s phenomenal success on court over the years has seen him become tennis’ highest earner.
Over the past two decades, he has raked in an eye-watering $193.5 million (£144.8 million) in prize money, and could add another £3.6 million to that total if he can clinch his eighth title at SW19 later this month.
Djokovic’s net worth – which is estimated to be in the region of $250 million (£187million) – is also boosted by a slew of lucrative endorsement and sponsorship deals.
He has signed deals with tennis brands including Asics and Head, while outside of the sport, he has worked with companies like Hublot, Lacoste and Peugeot.
The Serbian star has also partnered with Lemero, NetJets, Raiffeisen Bank International and Ultimate Software Group over the years.
Djokovic shares his huge personal fortune with his wife Jelena, with the couple meeting at high school in Serbia and starting a relationship in 2005.
They got married nine years later at a luxury hotel resort in Montenegro and now share two children together – Stefan, 11, and Tara, eight.
Jelena is a businesswoman and the global global CEO of the Novak Djokovic Foundation (NDF), a charity she co-founded with her husband, which strives to achieve equal access to early childhood education.
She is often seen supporting her husband from the stands during major competitions and is not afraid to weigh in on incidents and drama on and off the court.
Earlier this year, she publicly called out women’s singles star Naomi Osaka for her conduct during her win over Sorana Cirstea at the Australian Open.
A spiky match saw Cirstea grow frustrated with Osaka’s behaviour between her first and second serves, namely shouting ‘come on’ to pump herself up. It led to a frosty exchange between the pair at the net at the end of the match.
At the time, Osaka – who is also in action at Wimbledon today – gave a fiery post-match interview before later apologising for her comments on court.
However, Jelena soon weighed in on the incident and criticised Osaka for her “disrespectful” actions, taking to Instagram to share her disapproval.
“Hm, I’m surprised that this is not being called hindrance,” she wrote. “In between two serves, when crowds are applauding or shouting, the chair ump asks not to shout between serves as it is disturbing to the player.
“The point is not finished. Sorana missed her first serve and is focusing on getting in the second, it is a slight pause. And it is disrespectful to applaud at someone’s first serve mistake too.”
Questioning the officiating, she added: “I am surprised that the chair / Naomi thought that was fair?! Were there any rule changes that I missed?!”
