"I am really sad and heartbroken" - Novak Djokovic's wife Jelena mourns death of Serb's big fan

Novak Djokovic's wife Jelena recently expressed her heartbreak over the death of Padma Rajan, a big fan of her husband.

Rajan has been a staunch supporter of the Serb great since the beginning, cheering him on in matches and supporting him even during defeats. She even started a petition to allow him to compete in the 2022 US Open, which received over 43,000 signatures.

Unfortunately, she passed away on Tuesday (July 25) at the age of 61. Rajan was reportedly fighting a rare and rapidly progressive chronic lung disease.

In light of this, Jelena took to Twitter to express her emotions. She recalled a beautiful moment between her and Padma Rajan when they both met and shared a hug.

"I remember Padma very well. What a beautiful soul she is! Usually when people hug me, they say how tiny I am. But I remember hugging her and feeling how gentle, almost fragile she is! How much love I felt and kindness in our few encounters," she wrote.

Jelena then expressed her condolences to Padma Rajan's family and children, adding that the Novak Djokovic Foundation is grateful for her support over the years.

"My condolences to the family, to her two children she loved and cared for very much. I am really sad and heartbroken to learn about her passing. Whole @novakfoundation loved her enthusiasm and passion for ECD and we valued her support over the years. May she rest in peace," she wrote.

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"Novak Djokovic can retire right now, he has won everything" - Serb's mother Dijana

Novak Djokovic pictured with his French Open trophy.

Novak Djokovic has already cemented his place as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, if not the greatest. His 2023 French Open victory gave him a record 23 men's Grand Slam singles titles, taking him above Rafael Nadal.

The Serb has a record 38 ATP Masters 1000 titles in addition to his impressive Slam achievements, with Olympic gold being the only honor he is yet to win. He has also won 94 ATP Tour events so far, an incredible feat by any metric.

In February this year, he broke the all-time record for weeks spent at the top of the tennis rankings for men and women, surpassing tennis legend Steffi Graf (377 weeks).

His mother Dijana recently opened up about his son's future in Sportal's documentary "Novak Djokovic – Untold Stories." She believes her son could retire right now, as he has won everything.

"It’s all up to him. As far as I’m concerned, he can retire right now – he has won everything," she said, as quoted by the Tennis Major.