The teenage tennis player who Novak Djokovic is now tipping to be a ‘future star’ of the sport

Now a resident of Greece, Djokovic has trained with several highly-rated youngsters from the country during the winter break.

After his latest practice session with 13-year-old Rafael Pagonis, Djokovic shared his thoughts on the teenage prodigy.

Novak Djokovic tells Rafael Pagonis to remember him when he wins a Grand Slam

Posting on his Instagram story, Djokovic had this to say about the talented Greek star.

“Great to spend time with young Greek star Rafael Pagonis,” he said.

“A future star of our sport.

“(Please remember this coaching session when you win your first Slam.)”

Pagonis also reacted to their training session, posting the following message on his Instagram account.

“Today I had a dream that I was invited to play tennis with the G.O.A.T. Novak Djokovic,” he said.

“He was so kind, generous, and he told me the secrets of his return.

“Please don’t wake me up from this dream!

“Thank you, Novak Djokovic, for this out-of-the-world experience!

“See you soon…”

Djokovic certainly seemed impressed by Pagonis, but what else do we know about the youngster?

Well, Pagonis competed in the Wimbledon U-14 tournament earlier this year and made a fantastic run through to the final.

He couldn’t quite get over the line to win the title, losing a three-set final to Austria’s Moritz Freitag.

Pagonis won’t be making his ATP Tour debut anytime soon, but his fellow Greek, Stefanos Tsitsipas, has already spoken about playing doubles with him in the future.

During an interview with SDNA earlier this year, Tsitsipas gave his verdict on the young star.

“He is very impressive, and I can’t wait to see him at a high ATP level. I hope I can catch him to play Davis Cup together,” he said.

“He has great potential. He seems dedicated and focused on what he does.

“I am very happy that we have such an athlete from our country; he will not only be a good athlete, but I believe he will be an excellent athlete in the future.”

Only time will tell whether Pagonis will one day represent Greece at the Davis Cup.

Perhaps he will even eclipse Tsitsipas’ efforts on the ATP Tour…

How close has Stefanos Tsitsipas been to winning a Grand Slam?

Tsitsipas is the only player in the history of Greek tennis to reach a Grand Slam final.

In fact, he reached two…

He came closest to winning a Grand Slam in his first final, however, taking on Djokovic at the 2021 French Open.

Making a fast start, Tsitsipas stormed into a two-set lead on Court Philippe Chatrier, moving himself within touching distance of the trophy.

Unfortunately for Tsitsipas, Djokovic did what Djokovic does best and fought back to win in five sets, 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

Tsitsipas returned to another Grand Slam final two years later, but failed to win a set, losing to Djokovic in straights at the Australian Open.

Two poor major campaigns followed, as Tsitsipas fell away from contention.

If he can’t improve in 2026, then perhaps Pagonis will become Greece’s best Grand Slam hope!