Novak Djokovic Admits His Father Was Forced to Borrow Money From Criminals

Djokovic shared a striking memory from when he was just 15 years old and preparing to travel to the United States to play major junior tournaments like the Prince Cup and the Orange Bowl. His father desperately needed $5,000 to fund the trip and had no choice but to approach local criminals for a loan.

“As you can imagine, Tennis Federation didn't have the money to support me, so my father had to go and beg, and then he was also borrowing money from, unfortunately, even some criminals at the time during 90s,” revealed Djokovic.

“He went to borrow money because we didn't have it, so he went to get $5,000 and so these criminal people that you could borrow money from, because banks obviously would not give it to you, and then they said ‘how much are you in rush?’ And he's like ‘listen, I'm asking this money from you because of my son he's playing tennis, we're going in America, and I'll return this money within one or two months', they say interest rate was 15% but because you are in rush, it's 25%”, explained the Serb.

“I can only imagine the stress that he was going through and trying to turn this money where people were really car chasing him, shootings in our capital town, stuff that my father went through, to really not only survive himself, but to actually allow all of us to live and protect us and to allow me to live my dream and to play the most expensive sport at the time,” said the former US open champion.

“There's no money, or there's nothing that can return the favor. So, to say so- of course, my father is always my hero for that and my champion,” he added.

For Djokovic, those sacrifices have left a permanent mark on his journey. He credits his father’s resilience and courage as the foundation of his career, acknowledging that without those risks, he might never have reached the heights he has today.