Novak Djokovic's wife Jelena confirms she won't attend Serb's Australian Open matches as he bids for historic 11th title

Novak Djokovic’s wife Jelena won’t be cheering him on from the stands at the 2024 Australian Open.

Jelena, who has been with the Serb since 2005, recently confirmed that she wouldn’t be in Melbourne to watch the World No. 1 chase history. She provided the update during a fan interaction on social media, where she initially asked if any of her followers are currently attending the tournament.

She then responded to the question of whether she will be attending the event herself, by answering:

“Nope,” hinting that she has other commitments.

This isn’t the first time that Jelena has skipped the Australian Open. She regularly attends the French Open, the Wimbledon Championships and the US Open. However, Novak Djokovic has played in Melbourne without the presence of Jelena for the past few years.

During the 2023 event, when Novak Djokovic clinched his 10th Australian Open title, Jelena celebrated his success with friends back home by treating herself to Julia Roberts classic ‘Pretty Woman.’

Djokovic, the most successful champion in Australian Open history, is in pursuit of a record-extending 11th title at the event. The Serb currently holds the record for the most Majors won in the Open Era, and is tied with 24-time champion Margaret Court, who won her titles across eras. He will be chasing a historic 25th Major trophy in Melbourne.

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Novak Djokovic on juggling career and family life with wife Jelena: "Every time I travel for extended periods, it breaks my heart"

The Serb with wife Jelena and children at the 2023 French Open

Novak Djokovic has often voiced his ambitions of making Grand Slam history and breaking all possible records. This year, the Serb is also setting his sights on the Golden Slam, with the Olympic gold in Paris also up for grabs.

Djokovic, however, also recently addressed his potential retirement. The World No. 1 said that while he still wishes to fulfil his dreams in tennis, he is divided on when to draw curtains on his glorious career. He added that he doesn’t want to miss out on his children, son Stefan and daughter Tara, growing up.

He told Jim Courier during a recent interview at the 2024 United Cup:

"To be honest, I’m kind of divided. There’s always a part of me that is a young boy who just adores tennis and knows only about tennis and devoted his entire life to tennis and that boy still wants to keep going."

The World No. 1 continued:

“On the other side, I am a father of two children. And I am away from my family. And every time I travel for extended periods of time, it breaks my heart."

"I’m still hungry, I still want to compete, I still can run for hours, thankfully, but it’s more of an emotional aspect. It’s more of like, 'What is the priority?' Tennis has been the priority for 30 years, and I don’t want to miss out on too many moments with my children," he added.

Novak Djokovic is currently through to the second round of the 2024 event, after a hard-fought victory over qualifier Dino Prizmic. He will next face Aussie Alexei Popyrin on Wednesday, January 17.