Novak Djokovic names Tom Brady, LeBron James among dream celebrity doubles partners; picks $100 million Hollywood actress on women's side

Novak Djokovic has picked his dream celebrity doubles partner, and his choices are intriguing. The Serbian tennis great, a 24-time Grand Slam champion, picked NBA legend LeBron James and NFL icon Tom Brady among his probables and Hollywood actress Jessica Alba for his mixed doubles team.

Djokovic was speaking ahead of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where he is seeded sixth. The Serbian is making a comeback after a hamstring injury and will only play in his second tournament since the Australian Open.

The 37-year-old was in scintillating form at the Melbourne Major as he cruised through to the semifinals. He was on course for a record 11th title before suffering a hamstring injury and withdrawing mid-way into his semifinal contest against Alexander Zverev.

Novak Djokovic withdrew from the 2025 Australian Open semifinal due to a hamstring injury. Source: Getty

He returned to the Tour at the Qatar Open, where he lost his opening round match to Matteo Berrettini and partnered Fernando Verdasco to make the men’s doubles quarters.

In the run-up to the season’s first Masters 1000 tournament, Novak Djokovic was asked to name his dream celebrity doubles partner, and he told Bleacher Report:

“One of the top athletes like Tom Brady or LeBron James or Luka Doncic…the Joker (Nikola Jokic). I think I'll be doing the most movement on the court there. He (Jokic) would probably be serving well.”

He then named Hollywood actress Jessica Alba, who has a net worth of $100 million (as per Celebrity Net Worth), as a potential mixed doubles partner.

Djokovic is a huge NBA buff and follows his compatriot Jokic's matches closely. Jokic recently became the first player to achieve a 30-20-20 in NBA history, and Djokovic congratulated him on social media.

Djokovic was then asked, if given a chance, what would be the one rule change he would make to tennis, and he said:

“I'd probably play shorter sets. Never play best of five ever again, except in Grand Slams. I mean, maybe in the latter stages of the Grand Slams. I’d love, on the men's side, on-court coaching. Maybe no-ad (advantage) is interesting, just to kind of make it shorter and more exciting.”

Djokovic, bidding for his 100th ATP title, begins his Indian Wells Masters campaign against Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands. The duo will clash on Court 1, on Sunday, March 09.

Novak Djokovic reveals similarities between veterans LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo and himself

Novak Djokovic needs just one more Grand Slam title to become the first player ever to win 25 Majors. Source: Getty

Novak Djokovic recently spoke about the many similarities he shared with legendary athletes, including LeBron James and Cristiano Ronaldo. The one major commonality he noted was that all of them were playing at their peaks despite being in the twilight of their careers.

Djokovic, who has trained with the likes of Ronaldo, attributed that trait to the phenomenon that these legendary players pay minute detail to every aspect of their performance to ensure they're at their best despite growing older.

“That's where I realized that we have a lot of common ground through mentalities, through approach and championship mentality and I think that every name you listed tends to be better today than they were yesterday, regardless of age. LeBron and Ronaldo are both 40, they have entered their fifth decade and are still playing at the top level, which is impressive. Why is that?" Djokovic was quoted as saying by a Montenegrin newspaper Vijesti

“My somewhat subjective feeling is that the older you get, the more you have to work, the more attention you pay to details and all the elements of improvement to be able to keep up with the younger beasts who are racing and who will do anything to beat you and win trophies,” he added.

At 37, Djokovic is still amongst the fittest players on the Tour and continues to battle it out against younger opponents. His court coverage is unmatched and so is his work ethic, despite facing numerous injury setbacks.

The Serbian legend is the last active member among tennis’ “Big Four” and is on the cusp of history as he has the most Majors among male players and needs just one more Grand Slam crown to earn the distinction of becoming the first player ever to win 25 Majors.