Novak Djokovic's most expensive racquet sold at auction debunked as Billie Jean King's supposedly sold for more

Tennis analyst Matthew Willis has stated that the Eurosport claim about Novak Djokovic’s racket becoming the most expensive to be sold is not current.

The 36-year-old is regarded as the greatest player in the history of men’s singles tennis in the Open era, having won as many as 24 Grand Slam titles in his career. In a post on social media platform X — previously known as Twitter — Eurosport claims that Djokovic’s racket became the most expensive after being sold for $107,482.

However, Willis, while responding to that post, stated that it was factually wrong. “Weird how stuff like this makes it all the way to Eurosport. It wasn’t a Calendar Grand Slam and it’s not the most expensive racquet ever sold at Auction. Billie Jean King’s racquet from her match vs Bobby Riggs sold for $125k in 2017,” he wrote.

Djokovic had a fabulous year at the highest level where he ended up winning three out of four Grand Slam titles. His only defeat in a major event in 2023 came in the final at Wimbledon where he lost to Spain’s young tennis sensation Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set thrilling contest with a score of 1–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–1, 3–6, 6–4.

The world number one ended the year on a high after winning the ATP Finals in Turin after defeating Jannik Sinner in the final with a score of 6-3, 6-3.