Top five controversies of Novak Djokovic

Serbian Tennis legend Novak Djokovic is one of the modern-day greats without any question. The Belgrade-born player is one of the top-most Grand Slam winners. He is the only player to win all nine ATP Masters 1000 events. On the other hand, the former number one player has been involved in some major controversies. We have selected only five out of them.

Some of these were extremely controversial in nature and attracted a lot of criticism. One of them is the recent one which also has jeopardized his career as of now. The World Number Six player has been banned from participating as of now. So, without further ado, let's have a look at the top five controversies of the 35-year-old.

Top-five controversies of Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic (Image Credit: Twitter)

1. Not allowed to play in the Australia Open 2022

The Serbian was denied entry down under as he failed to meet the requirements for an exemption to COVID-19 rules. The then defending champion had announced that he had gotten the exemptions against the COVID 19 guidelines.

However, in a surprising turn of events, his Visa was revoked. the Australian Open tournament director gave a statement revealing that Djokovic failed to provide proof of medical exemption of not being vaccinated. 

Novak Djokovic (Image Credit: Twitter)

2. Not wearing a mask during the Australia Open 2021

Last year, the 20-time Grand Slam winner was seen not wearing a mask ahead of the title game against Daniil Medvedev. Apparently, the players needed to wear a mask while entering the ground at that time.

However, Nole as he is fondly called was booed by the fans. The Twitterati called for imposing charges on him for not following the rules. 

Luka Doncic-Novak Djokovic (Image source: Twitter)

3. Wanted some extraordinary demands to be fulfilled

Before the beginning of AO last year, he had a long wishlist that he wanted to be fulfilled. This included arranging for private houses for tennis players with a private tennis court for training, a reduction of days in the quarantine period during the stay, and that the players should be allowed to see their coaches.

These demands attracted a lot of criticism from the fans as they believed the demands were unreasonable and unjustified during a worldwide pandemic. 

Line Judge (For the representational purpose) (Image Credit: Twitter)

4. Hitting a line judge

Djokovic grabbed the headline during the US Open as he accidentally hit a line judge. He wasn't intentionally looking to hit the judge but when he hit the ball in frustration, it went on to hit the official on his throat.

This saw the dream of winning the title getting shattered for the world No.1 as he defaulted from the tournament for his act, which was cited as ‘ball abuse’. 

BELGRADE, SERBIA - JUNE 14: Alexander Zverev of Germany, Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria and Novak Djokovic (Photo by Nikola Krstic/MB Media/Getty Images)

5. Organizing Adria tour

This will easily go down as the most controversial thing he has ever done. Apparently, when the COVID 19 had just entered into people's lives, he went on to organize a tournament  Adria Tour, which was a series of events in the Balkans. Djokovic was joined by other players from the international circuit like Aleksander Zverev, Dominic Thiem, Grigor Dimitrov, and Marin Cilic.

A lot of tickets were sold as the tournament wasn’t held behind closed doors. But things didn’t go well as the second weekend, which was to be played in Croatia, was called off after a few participating players tested positive, which included Dimitrov, followed by Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki.