Government of Serbia reduced the budget of the Tennis Association of Serbia for 2026 by 50 million dinars, which is about two and a half times less than last year.
In the budget for 2026, for needs Tennis association, 30 million dinars, or about 250.000 euros, were allocated, which is many times less than before, when the budget was 80 million dinars, or 665.000 euros.
The reason for such a sudden cut of the budget is not known, since neither the Minister of Youth and Sports, Zoran Gajić, nor the president of the federation, Goran Đoković, have spoken on the subject.
"The alliance was put in a checkmate position"
But Novak Djokovic, the best tennis player of all time, spoke about this at a press conference in Australia. He confirmed to Serbian journalists before the tournament that the budget has been reduced and that he himself has no information as to the reason.
"We are all looking for an answer, I don't think I am the addressee for that question, but the Ministry of Sports and the minister. We should ask why this is so for a sport that has been one of Serbia's most successful sports and brands in the last twenty-odd years. A sport that has produced some of the best ambassadors for Serbia in the world. I don't know why this is so," Djokovic said.
He added that all "first category" sports received increased funding except for tennis.
"That puts the Tennis Association of Serbia in a checkmate position. I am not in the Association, but my uncle is the president and he told me that it is now a matter of a few months before bankruptcy," says Novak.
Some things are obvious.
In the end, Novak invited the journalists to ask the minister about the budget.
"You and others should ask the Ministry why this is so. I have my own thoughts, but it's better not to share them. I think some things are obvious, but we should ask the appropriate institutions, so let's see what they will say," Novak said in Australia.
Tennis is out of favor with the authorities because of Novak
It is difficult to talk about the real reasons for such a decision, but given that the relations between the Djokovic family and the Serbian authorities have cooled in recent years, the motives can be guessed.
Djokovic found himself out of favor with the Serbian authorities and media sympathetic to them because he openly supported the anti-regime protests of students and citizens after the fall of the canopy at the Railway Station in Novi Sad, where 16 people died.
In recent years, Novak's tennis center was shut down on May 25 in Belgrade, and the ATP tournament of the 250 series, which was held in the capital of Serbia for several years and whose director was Novak's younger brother Đorđe, was moved to Athens. In the meantime, Novak himself moved with his family to the capital of Greece, where he spends most of the year.
Although, as in the case of the budget, there is no official information about the reason for moving the tournament and shutting down Novak's tennis complex, people close to Djokovic state that it is allegedly due to pressure from the authorities.
