"He was ready to end his career for this reason": Goran Ivanisevic reflects on Djokovic’s career-altering decision

Goran Ivanisevic spoke about Novak Djokovic's stance on refusing the COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic, and stated that Nole was "ready to give up his career."

The Serbian’s former coach recalled when Djokovic was deported from the 2022 Australian Open for not complying with the vaccination rule to enter the country. "Novak refused the vaccine, ready to abandon his career, a decision no other elite athlete would make," said the Croatian.

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At that time, not many supported Djokovic's decision, and he faced criticism, but he showed determination by skipping several tournaments, including those in the USA, based on his conviction not to get vaccinated. Nole claimed his issue wasn't with vaccines but with not wanting to allow something into his body without being 100% sure of its implications.

"The world condemned him, criticized him relentlessly, even belittled him for standing firm. Yet he never wavered, standing firm in his conviction with a determination that still resonates," Ivanisevic said. "Now we are talking about those vaccines and they say that some of them caused problems. We were locked up like sheep for three years and we were manipulated," he added.

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Before the start of the pandemic, Novak Djokovic had won his 17th major title and 8th Australian Open. He was still on track to become the greatest Grand Slam champion while Roger Federer had reached 20 and Rafael Nadal 19. All the high-profile players were vaccinated, with Nole – the World No. 1 at that time – being the only one speaking out against them.

"It was during the pandemic when he refused to get vaccinated. He said publicly several times that it was a decision he was making for his body, that he knew his body best and that he didn’t want to do that. And he was ready to end his career for this reason. He went all the way just to not get vaccinated."

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"He never told anyone not to get vaccinated, he never told us not to get vaccinated. We all got vaccinated. He never did that in his life. He organized a tournament in Belgrade, he facilitated the vaccination of other players, but he did not get vaccinated and, for this reason, he was criticized."

Ivanisevic ended his coaching relationship with Djokovic in 2024, after 5 years of partnership. By the end of the year, the Croatian was announced as the new coach of Rybakina, with whom he worked during the United Cup and the Australian Open. However, they parted ways after the major, following the controversy surrounding the return of Stefano Vukov to Rybakina's team amid allegations of mistreatment against the 2022 Wimbledon champion.

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