Novak Djokovic is a Serbian tennis player who was born in Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia [now in Serbia] on May 22, 1987. He is considered by many to be among the best men's players in tennis history. His 24 Grand Slam singles victories, which included a record 10 Australian Open titles, established a standard for men's tennis. One of the greatest returners in the game, Djokovic is renowned for his strong backhand and remarkable stamina.
At the age of four, Novak Djokovic started playing tennis, and he soon rose through the junior divisions. Despite growing up in Serbia during the challenging war-torn 1990s, he rose to the top of the European under-14 and under-16 rankings before going pro in 2003.
Djokovic made it into the top 100 of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings by the time he was eighteen. In July 2006, he won his first ATP tournament. He advanced to the semifinals of the Wimbledon Championship and the French Open in 2007. He made it to the US Open final later that year, but Roger Federer defeated him in straight sets.
As the first Serbian player to win one of tennis’s four major singles titles, Novak Djokovic’s ascent continued in 2008 when he won his maiden Grand Slam trophy at the Australian Open. He also won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing later that year. But for over three years, his progress stalled. He only made it to the 2010 US Open Grand Slam final and won ten ATP men’s singles competitions between February 2008 and the end of 2010.
When he guided the Serbian team to its first-ever Davis Cup victory in December 2010, his fortunes drastically shifted. His second Australian Open triumph in 2011 was part of the 43-match winning streak that followed that victory, which is the third-longest in the Open Era (since 1968). When he lost against Federer in the 2011 French Open quarterfinals, the run came to a stop. But Djokovic soon recovered, winning the 2011 Wimbledon Championship and earning the world No. 1 title for the first time after defeating Rafael Nadal. He won his third Grand Slam championship of 2011 when he overcame Nadal once more in the US Open final later that year.
In one of the longest Grand Slam finals in history, Djokovic defeated Nadal once more at the 2012 Australian Open in an exciting five-set encounter that lasted almost six hours. In the 2012 French Open final, the two adversaries faced off once more, with Nadal emerging victorious in four sets. Djokovic won his fourth Australian Open championship in 2013 after defeating Andy Murray. In a thrilling five-set final, he defeated Federer to win another Wimbledon title the next year.
Novak Djokovic became the all-time leader in Australian Open men’s singles titles during the Open Era in 2015 after defeating Murray once more to win his fifth Australian Open. His winning streak in Grand Slam matches reached 21 when he defeated Murray in straight sets in the Australian Open final in 2016. Later in 2016, Novak Djokovic defeated Murray once more in the French Open final, completing a career Grand Slam (winning all four major titles) and winning the championship for the first time. He made it to the US Open final that year, but Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland defeated him in four sets.
In 2017, Djokovic had a difficult year, missing out on the quarterfinals of the first three Grand Slam competitions. He declared in July that he would miss the remainder of the season in order to treat an elbow issue that had plagued him for eighteen months. In January 2018, he started competing again. Novak Djokovic won his seventh Australian Open singles championship in January 2019, which at the time was the most in the competition’s history. In an incredible 4-hour, 57-minute final—the longest singles final in Wimbledon history—he defeated Federer to successfully defend his Wimbledon title. A unprecedented 12-12 fifth-set tiebreaker decided the match.
By winning another Australian Open in 2020, Djokovic maintained his supremacy and won his 17th Grand Slam championship. The COVID-19 pandemic that year forced the cancellation of the Wimbledon Championships, while the French Open took place later in the fall. Despite making it to the final, Djokovic was defeated by Nadal.
Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open once more in 2021, and in June he went on to win his second French Open. By winning Wimbledon 2021, he maintained his incredible form and tied the all-time record held by Federer and Nadal with 20 Grand Slam singles victories. He went into the US Open later that year with the goal of being the third man to win all four Grand Slam events in one year. Despite making it to the final, he was defeated in straight sets by Daniil Medvedev of Russia.
At the Australian Open in 2022, Novak Djokovic was hoping to win his 21st Grand Slam, but he got entangled in the controversy surrounding Australia’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements for foreign visitors. After he was first given an exemption, his circumstances were examined during public discourse. Before the competition began, he was deported after his visa was subsequently withdrawn. Nadal overtook Djokovic and Federer in Grand Slam victories overall after winning the men’s title.
Later in 2022, Novak Djokovic competed in the French Open, but Rafael Nadal upset him in the quarterfinals. In July, he turned his season around by winning his 21st Grand Slam title at Wimbledon. Soon after, the full immunization requirements for U.S. visas forced him to withdraw from the US Open. In 2023, Novak Djokovic went back to Australia after the country relaxed its COVID-19 laws. After winning his eleventh Grand Slam singles championship at the Australian Open, he equaled Rafael Nadal’s record. A few months later, Djokovic won the French Open, shattering the previous record for the most Grand Slam men’s singles titles.
In a thrilling five-set match, Djokovic lost to rising Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz after reaching the Wimbledon final in 2023. In 2023, he achieved his 24th Grand Slam triumph by winning the US Open. At the 2024 Australian Open, Djokovic, one of the tournament favorites, lost to Italy’s Jannik Sinner in the semifinals, ending his 33-match winning streak. About five months later, he competed in the French Open, when he tore his right knee’s medial meniscus in the round of sixteen. Despite winning the match, he subsequently pulled out of the competition.
Novak Djokovic returned to Wimbledon after surgery and a quick recovery, reaching the final before losing to Alcaraz once more. The two competitors squared off again in the gold medal match in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, which Djokovic won. He became the fifth tennis player to achieve the career “Golden Slam” after winning all four major competitions plus an Olympic gold medal. One month after winning the Olympics, Djokovic entered the US Open ranked No. 2. However, he lost in the third round and claimed that it was “the worst tennis” he had ever played.
Before the 2025 season, Djokovic was coached by his longtime rival, Andy Murray. He defeated Alcaraz in the Australian Open quarterfinals, however he was unable to move on to the semifinals due to a leg injury. Over the next two months, he struggled with form, losing five of the six events he competed in, including his first match. In May, Djokovic and Murray announced the end of their brief coaching partnership.
Despite winning two lower-level contests that season, Novak Djokovic did not make it past the quarterfinals in any major event. After losing badly to Alcaraz at the US Open in September, Djokovic said, “In the future, getting past players like Sinner and Alcaraz in best-of-five Grand Slam matches will be very difficult for me… they are extremely good.”
However, Novak Djokovic surprised both onlookers and perhaps himself in the 2026 Australian Open. He faced Sinner in the semifinals following a fortunate tournament start in which one opponent withdrew and another retired due to injury despite leading by two sets. In an exciting four-hour, nine-minute final, Djokovic defeated Sinner 3–6, 6–3, 4–6, 6–4, 6–4. He made it to the final, when he had a chance to win his 25th Grand Slam title, but Carlos Alcaraz beat him in four sets.
