Novak Djokovic’s Biggest Supporter Is His High School Sweetheart

Jul 9, 2014

While Novak was struggling against Federer in magically tense Wimbledon finals, his biggest supporter and pregnant fiancée, Jelena Ristic, was enjoying the victory a few miles away from the comfort of home.

The most famous Serbian couple will soon have even more to celebrate when they marry. The extravagant ceremony will be held a long way from their hometown in Serbia.

They have been together since 2005 and are high school sweethearts. Jelena’s mother Vera said it was love at first sight and as Jelena has always been a tennis enthusiast so she was just a perfect fit for the ATP number 1.

While Novak was making his way to the top, she went on to study luxury brand management at Milan’s prestigious ‘Bocconi’ University, making her own way with several not-so-glamorous jobs. In spite of her busy schedule at University, the struggling student did find the time to be Novak’s biggest support on tour.

“Us getting together was like science fiction almost. I was a student barely getting by, and he was a very young tennis player who also had no money to spare on expensive trips,” she said in an interview for a Serbian newspaper.

“Airplanes were, at the time, something utterly out of our reach. We contrived and devised these plans how to meet, how to make our relationship work.”

Soon after, Jelena’s sweetheart stared advancing on ATP rankings but something still wasn’t quite right with Novak’s game.

For many years he had problems with fatigue during matches without being able to explain why. 3 years ago, doctors finally diagnosed him with ‘coeliac disease’ which means he is intolerant to gluten. His diet was radically changed and he became the unstoppable force Jelena always knew he’d become.

In September 2013, Novak took the relationship to the next level by proposing his biggest supporter. He rented a helicopter and took his love to the luxury Couvent des Minimes hotel in Provence, France.

He announced the news by tweeting: “Meet my fiancé and future wife 🙂 So happy! Thank you for wonderful wishes #NoleFam and friends!”