Novak Djokovic magazine row at US Open met with salty response from wife

Djokovic’s wife Jelena jumped to her husband’s defence on social media by hitting back at Racquet Novak Djokovic is back at the US Open with his wife Jelena – a year after she engaged in an online back-and-forth with tennis magazine Racquet over his absence from the United States. She was defending her husband following his belated withdrawal from the Canadian Open. The three-time US Open champion – who has eased into the third round without dropping a set – could not enter North America during the 2022 season because of his vaccination status. Unvaccinated non-citizens were unable to come into either country. However, that did not stop him from initially entering the tournament. Doing so was something Racquet took exception to, tweeting: ‘Dunno why this guy keeps entering tournaments hoping they’ll change their rules for him.” After seeing the post, Jelena asked: ‘Is this a real, international tennis magazine?! @atptour. Wow.’ She conveyed her astonishment at the situation by signing off the response with four shocked-face emojis. Djokovic celebrated his 2018 US Open with by hugging his wife Jelena who was watching on However, Racquet did not back down. “Hi Jelena,’ they replied. ‘We’d love to see your husband play in New York [at the US Open], along with the rest of the tennis world. Hopefully he’ll decide he can follow the rules.’ Jelena did not address this point, instead continuing the conversation with an explanation behind her husband’s entry. ‘Hi,’ her post read. ‘Based on tennis rules and ranking – Novak’s entry in the tournament was automatic. So, what was the logic behind your tweet?’ Racquet did not directly answer Jelena’s query. Instead, they brought up further examples to state their case. SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Djokovic and Jelena married in 2014 after first meeting in high school. They now have two children. ‘As of right now, he’s also automatically entered into Cincy [the Cincinnati Open] and the USO [US Open] – is he gonna withdraw from them now knowing he doesn’t want to follow rules or wait until the last minute like he’s just done for Montreal? Or maybe after the draw is made like he did in Indian Wells?’ In a separate post, they continued: ‘Not trying to disrupt your Friday night, but since you came our way, it’d be great to get him to take his stand by withdrawing from those events now so the whole tennis world isn’t talking about him not getting a shot for weeks to come. A stand is only a stand if one takes it.’ In reply, Jelena countered: “His most important stand is to be a tennis champion. And he took it. I mean, a stand is a stand.” Trending