Novak Djokovic has gone from Serbian hero to persona non grata, now he lives in Athens
Tennis superstar has been called a ‘false patriot’ in his homeland after falling foul of its authoritarian president for backing protests
Simon Briggs Tennis Correspondent and senior feature writer
“The man who touched people’s hearts.” This was the answer given by Novak Djokovic on Tuesday, when asked what message he wanted to use as his epitaph.
“I want to cry right now,” added Djokovic, after offering this wholesome response at the end of a feature-length interview with Piers Morgan. “I think I’ve realised what I want on my tombstone. Thank you. You’ve helped me come to that realisation.”
Djokovic was in emollient mood during this hour-long chat, which also found him describing his first meeting with wife Jelena as “destiny” and revealing that his 10-year-old son, Stefan, is bent on establishing his own professional tennis career: “I think he’s got some good genes in him.”
What we did not hear about, though, was Djokovic’s recent shift of domicile. Having spent much of his playing career alternating between homes in Monte Carlo and Marbella, he caught the tennis world by surprise this summer by upping sticks with his whole family and relocating to Athens.
Part of the explanation may lie in his children’s education. Stefan, Djokovic’s 11-year-old son, and his eight-year-old sister Tara have reportedly been booked into St Lawrence College, a British school in Athens that boasts outdoor tennis courts within its 20-acre campus.
But there is a wider issue here, and it relates to Djokovic’s sudden transformation from Serbian folk hero to persona non grata in the eyes of Aleksandar Vucic, the authoritarian president who has held power in Belgrade since 2017.
Few would have anticipated such a turn of events when Djokovic received a hero’s welcome last summer after returning to Belgrade with an Olympic gold medal. President Vucic celebrated by promising to construct a Djokovic museum in the city, citing the fact that Palma de Mallorca already has a Rafael Nadal museum.
But that was before Djokovic began backing a student protest movement against Vucic and his Serbian Progressive Party.
The initial gesture of support seemed relatively low-key. It came on December 19 last year, when Djokovic sent a tweet saying “As someone who deeply believes in the strength of young people and their desire for a better future, I believe it is important that their voice be heard.”
Quite a moderate statement, you might think. But then Serbia had already been in uproar for seven weeks at that stage, since a concrete canopy at the Novi Sad railway station had collapsed onto the pavement below, killing 16 people. The tragedy was the spur for nationwide demonstrations about corrupt government contracts, with students leading the movement.
In case Djokovic’s first message had not been clear enough, he doubled down in the early months of 2025. First he wore a hoodie emblazoned with the logo “Students are champions” while attending the basketball derby between Red Star and Partizan in Belgrade on January 31. And then – most explicitly – he shared a photograph of a mass protest in March on Instagram with the caption “History, amazing!”
Before long, government-sponsored news sources had turned on the man they once lionised. Vucic himself stayed above the fray, claiming that he would never say a bad word about Djokovic. But the establishment tabloid Informer showed no such scruples, describing Djokovic as a “disgrace” and “a false patriot who had presented himself as a symbol of Serbia for years only to now flee to Greece.”
It is not clear exactly when Djokovic’s relocation took place. But the direction of travel has been clear since August, when it emerged that the Belgrade Open – a tournament owned by Djokovic’s brother Djordje through his company Legacy International – would be moving to Athens this winter.
Djokovic then made a point of entering the event – which is only a 250-pointer, occupying the lowest rung on the ATP Tour – and won it on Saturday, defeating Lorenzo Musetti in scenes of great jubilation.
Asked earlier this month why he had chosen Greece as his bolthole, Djokovic made no mention of his dispute with the Serbian Progressive Party. “There are a lot of historical, religious, cultural, social ties between Greece and Serbia that are a big part of the reason why I’m here,” he replied tactfully. “It is also because of the weather, the food is incredible, you are on one of the nicest coastlines in Europe, in the world. I just love the lifestyle, you know, and I really feel that the Greek and Serbian people are like brothers, so this is the biggest reason.”
Perhaps it is no more than a fluke that Djokovic’s move has coincided with his provocations towards Vucic. After all, he was not living in Serbia when the dispute erupted in the first place, so there was no pressure on him to relocate. Even so, his new life in Greece raises questions about how he sees his post-tennis future, especially when many observers expect 2026 to be his final season on the tour.
In theory, Djokovic could stay in Athens indefinitely, adding another language to the extraordinary repertoire he already possesses: Serbian, Italian, English, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese. Having invested heavily in a mansion in Glyfada, a fashionable southern suburb, he has earned himself a five-year “Golden Visa”, which he should be able to renew with little fuss.
But the call of his homeland is likely to become stronger, especially as his children grow up. After Djokovic’s involvement in the complex backstage politics of tennis – most specifically through the foundation of the Professional Tennis Players’ Association in 2020 – many have even suggested that he might have aspirations to stand for office in Serbia.
It even seems possible that Djokovic’s backing of the student protests could prove to be a brilliant long-term ploy. Should the unrest eventually unseat Vucic, he would find himself on the right side of the argument. His status as Serbia’s most successful export would then make him a strong candidate for the presidency, just as cricket legend Imran Khan won the top job in Pakistan before eventually being unseated by his rivals.
Djokovic as the Serbian premier? Do not bet against it. That way, he could not only touch people’s hearts, but change their lives as well.
Recommended