Novak Djokovic surprised a group of Serbian fans by playing padel with them in Belgrade. The 24-time Grand Slam champion had an interesting interaction with fans who were enjoying an afternoon of padel when "Nole" appeared at the courts and ended up playing with four women in Belgrade.
The former World No. 1 is currently enjoying his off-season after concluding his 2025 campaign in early November with his participation in the Hellenic Championships in Athens, where he finished as champion after defeating Lorenzo Musetti in the final 6-4, 6-3, 7-5.
Hours after that victory, the Serbian announced he would not compete in the ATP Finals, ultimately handing the qualification spot precisely to Musetti. The Italian was positioned 9th in the Race, securing his ticket to Turin at the last minute. Djokovic opted to start his vacation early, skipping the year-end tournament—which gathers the season's eight best players and where Nole holds 7 titles—for the second consecutive year.
Although Djokovic recently changed his residence from Belgrade to Athens, he made an appearance in the Serbian capital this week, where he enjoyed a fun afternoon of padel with four fans who were shocked by the presence of the former No. 1 joining them on the court.
"I wanna see what's going on here," Djokovic said in the video. "Don't worry! I'm not judging," the 38-year-old joked while observing from the sidelines, before being lent a paddle to join the women on the court for a few minutes.
The rise of alternative racquet sports
The growth of padel and pickleball in recent years has generated increasingly popular alternatives among racquet sports fans. While tennis continues to reign supreme in terms of global viewership, both padel and pickleball have seen a boom in terms of active participants, as well as followers of the World Padel Tour and the PPA Tour (Pickleball).
Djokovic himself spoke about the emergence of these sports in March of this year during his Miami Open campaign, offering his verdict on their growing popularity: "Well, I think that the future, at least on the recreational club level of the tennis clubs, will be racquet clubs, to be honest," said Djokovic.
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"I think the growing popularity of pickleball in this country, but overall padel, more than pickleball globally, is so big and so vast. Padel, for example, is such a great sport for recreational players who never maybe held a racquet in their hands. Easier to learn to play padel than tennis, certainly. And it’s fun. You know, it’s social and it’s engaging."
"So I think that the future of the clubs is definitely a hybrid between all these sports. On a professional, competition level, I’m not sure. But why not? I think obviously if tennis being the king or the queen of all the racquet sports, you know, attracts the most people and attention."
"We have big tournaments, and padel is globally relatively, as pickleball, relatively new sport, so it’s going to be interesting to see the rise of these sports and on a professional level, see how people, whether they are interested or not to watch the tournaments, but padel has been growing very rapidly."
There are several examples of tennis players who swapped the tennis racquet to move to the Pickleball and Padel Tours. Former World No. 8 Jack Sock and former Wimbledon runner-up Eugenie Bouchard have already made appearances on the pro pickleball tour, while Italian Roberta Vinci entered the World Padel Tour once her tennis career ended, even ranking inside the top 70.
Cristhián AvilaTennis Journalist
Cristhián Ávila is a tennis journalist based in Santiago, Chile, and has been part of the TennisUpToDate team since early 2023. He covers the ATP and WTA Tours as well as all four Grand Slams, producing breaking news, match reports, analysis, and regular liveblogs from major tournaments.
His reporting combines statistical analysis with clear explanation, helping readers understand tactical developments, player form, and broader storylines across the tour. Working fluently in both Spanish and English, Cristhián collaborates with an international editorial team and contributes to comprehensive global coverage. As part of his work, he has conducted interviews and media interactions with leading figures in the sport, including Caroline Wozniacki and John McEnroe.
In his journalism, Cristhián places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. His coverage is grounded in research, context, and direct engagement with professional tennis.
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