Tennis star and 20-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic visited the Serbia Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, ahead of workshops run by his charity organisation. Excited young fans gathered to watch the World No. 1’s arrival, prior to his tour of the pavilion, rushing to get a picture or two. Djokovic stopped at a number of exhibits.
The Novak Djokovic Foundation, which started 15 years ago, focuses on early childhood development in Serbia and ensuring young children are able to go to kindergarten. The organisation has helped open 50 pre-school facilities, assisting 50,000 children so far.
Jelena Djokovic, Novak Djokovic Foundation co-founder and Global Director, stressed the importance of investing in children: “Once upon a time [Novak] was a child who had a dream and thanks to a few people who recognised that dream, he can now touch millions of people around the world… [We might have] another child who might touch, not maybe millions, but thousands of people throughout their life so, if we instil good values in a child from an early age when their brain is developing at a very exponential rate, and [consider] every moment we use with a child as important – I don’t think we can go wrong with that.”
The first workshop, ‘Support, NOT Perfection’ was aimed at parents, providing them with a space in which they could share their experiences and dilemmas as responsible guardians, and receive advice on new guidelines and recommendations.
The second programme, ‘Path of a Champion’, was aimed at empowering and educating the parents of future athletes, stating that every child is a champion, regardless of what they will do later in life. It also focused on how sport should primarily be a game and aid a healthy way of growing up.
Novak Djokovic said: “Parents are parents and they should let coaches and mentors do their job… it’s all a ‘triangle’ at all times. So, it’s important not to exclude the parent but it’s important also for a parent to know where the borders are. There should be this healthy relationship and communication [between coaches and parents], which will enable the child to flourish and to excel because the child should feel happy, because in the end 99.9 per cent of children who pick up the tennis racket have done that because they fell in love with the sport, not because they want to earn money.”
Opposition to COVID-19 vaccine
Djokovic's views came under increased scrutiny in late 2021, in the run-up to the 2022 Australian Open, after comments made by Australian government officials indicated that tennis players would need to be vaccinated to enter the tournament. Prior to the tournament, Djokovic had refused to state publicly whether he was vaccinated or not.
However, while being interviewed by the Australian Border Force in January 2022, Djokovic confirmed that he was unvaccinated. In a recent interview, a few weeks after the tournament, Djokovic stated he does not associate with the wider anti-vax movement.
However, he supported an individual's right to choose whether or not they receive a vaccine. He re-affirmed his refusal to receive a vaccine, and said he is willing to forego entry into any tennis tournament if the tournament, or the country it is being held in, forbid unvaccinated players from participating.
By: Delroy Constantine-Simms and Sonia Dixon
