Tennis News Today: Novak Djokovic and family rally behind the Serbian volleyball team at Paris Olympics; Coco Gauff shares why her US tennis teammates left the Olympic Village

Novak Djokovic, along with his wife Jelena and their children Tara and Stefan, showed support for the Serbian volleyball team at the 2024 Paris Olympics. In other news, Coco Gauff disclosed the reason behind the departure of her fellow US women's tennis players from the Olympic Village.

Meanwhile, Coco Gauff's coach Brad Gilbert advocated for penalties against tennis players for late withdrawals at the Paris Olympics. Sebastian Korda reminisced about learning tennis with his mother while his father Petr focused on his sister Jessica's golf.

Also, Casper Ruud addressed criticism over his Danish-looking outfit at the Paris Olympics.

On that note, here's a recap of today's top tennis news:

---

Novak Djokovic and family support the Serbian volleyball team at the Paris Olympics

Novak Djokovic witnessed Serbia's volleyball team defeat the 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medallist France in five sets at the 2024 Paris Olympics, with his wife Jelena, son Stefan, and daughter Tara.

Checkout the pictures and videos from the match here:

Top seed Novak Djokovic kicked off his Olympics campaign with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Australia's Matthew Ebden to reach the second round where he will take on his longtime rival Rafael Nadal for the 60th time on July 29.

---

Coco Gauff reveals the reason why fellow US women's tennis players have left the Olympic Village

Coco Gauff revealed that her tennis colleagues left the Olympic Village in Paris because of the cramped conditions. Gauff shared a video of her accommodations on social media, highlighting the congestion and the fact that five females were assigned a single restroom.

"10 girls, two bathrooms. #olympicvillage," she captioned the video.

The American also disclosed that her tennis teammates Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro, Danielle Collins, and Desirae Krawczyk, have relocated to a hotel in mainland Paris.

"All the tennis girls moved to a hotel except me. So now just five girls, two bathrooms."

Coco Gauff, along with partner Jessica Pegula, began their doubles campaign with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Australia's Daria Saville and Ellen Perez. The top-seeded pair will take on either Russian duo Ekaterina Alexandrova/Elena Vesnina or Czech Republic's Karolina Muchova/Linda Noskova in the Round of 16.

In singles, the 20-year-old defeated Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3, 6-0 to reach the second round where she will face Augentina's Maria Lourdes Carle on July 29.

---

Coco Gauff's coach Brad Gilbert proposes penalties for tennis players who withdraw late from the Paris Olympics

Coco Gauff's coach Brad Gilbert has advocated for penalties for tennis players who withdraw late from the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Numerous players, including Jannik Sinner, Holger Rune, Elena Rybakina, Marketa Vondrousova, Cameron Norrie, Hubert Hurkacz, and Alex de Minaur, opted out of the Games, citing injuries.

These late withdrawals (some of them exited right after the draw release) resulted in doubles players being drafted into the singles competition, a situation that Andy Roddick described as "dumb."

"The Olympics singles alternate situation is ridiculous. Players that don’t even/cant play singles at highest level getting the call is dumb," Roddick said.

In response to Roddick's comments, Gilbert suggested the presence of alternate singles players and the imposition of penalties for late withdrawals.

"Ridiculous to not have at least a couple of alternates on site, also way to many late pullouts after the draw made, should face some sort of penalty (sic)" Gilbert said.

---

Sebastian Korda reflects on learning tennis with his mother while his father Petr focused on sister Jessica's golf

Sebastian Korda at the Next Gen ATP Finals (Source: Getty)

Sebastian Korda shared that his mother, Regina Rajchrtova, taught him tennis while his father, Petr Korda, traveled with his older sister, Jessica, who is a golfer.

Petr, a former Australian Open champion, and Regina, who had notable Grand Slam results, set a strong sports legacy. Their children continue this legacy as Jessica competes on the LPGA Tour, Nelly is an Olympic gold medalist in golf, and Sebastian won the 2018 Australian Open junior title.

At the Mubadala Citi DC Open press conference, Sebastian credited his mother for his early tennis training while his father focused on Jessica’s career.

"I'd say my mom basically shaped my technique and the way that I play tennis in a way. Growing up, my oldest sister was just on the LPGA Tour, and my dad was her caddie for the first two or three years. He traveled most of the year with my older sister," Korda said.

Fourth seed Sebastian Korda received a bye into the second round where he will take on either Aslan Karatsev or Cristian Garin. The American, along with partner Alex Michelsen, will face seventh-seeds Julian Cash and Robert Galloway in the Round of 16 on July 30.

---

Casper Ruud responds to criticism over his Danish-looking outfit at the Paris Olympics

Casper Ruud in action during the 2024 Paris Olympics (Source: Getty)

Norwegian tennis star Casper Ruud addressed the criticism of his Danish-style outfit at the Paris Olympics. Ruud wore a Yonex-designed red and white ensemble with black and white lines, which resembled the Danish flag due to the absence of blue color. The outfit drew negative comments from Norwegian fans on social media.

Ruud acknowledged the criticism, agreeing that the design did not best represent Norway, and clarified that he did not choose the color scheme, but wore what was given to him.

"I would have liked to see a little more blue in it myself. It is not me who designed it, and I just put up with what I get. But yes, I missed blue," Casper Ruud told the Norwegian publication NRK.

Sixth seed Casper Ruud began his campaign in Paris with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Japan's Taro Daniel to reach the second round where he will lock horns with Italy's Andrea Vavassori on July 29.