Djokovic speaks about Serbian tennis: "The problem that we have is still the infrastructure"

Novak Djokovic said inadequate infrastructure is the main problem affecting tennis development in Serbia. While Serbian tennis has seen a lot of success in the past decade, thanks to superstars like himself, Djokovic believes the system hasn't followed the success as it should have.

"The problem that we have is still the infrastructure, but it's also the system that hasn't really followed the success as well as it should have. I do consider myself also responsible to try to do something when I'm not playing," Djokovic said.

“Through the tennis club that we are running in Belgrade, through my free time, I try to help the federation… to establish some system that will be a long-standing, long-term system that will allow kids and parents to have an easier access to tennis, cheaper access to tennis, racquets, tennis courts, things like this."

The current world no 2 also said that tennis is more expensive than most Serbian families can afford. This is a an issue that must be addressed as he believes the high cost is making his compatriots pursue a career in other sports.

"For an average family in Serbia, it's really expensive to play tennis. That's the reality. They will most likely choose — if it comes down to economics — basketball, football, handball or volleyball. Those are really successful sports in our country… We still have a lot of work to do to get actually, on the grassroot level, more players.”