My Idol: Novak Djokovic
I have a feeling you all aren’t going to like what I have to say about this topic — Let’s get into it.
My entire life and family has been based on tennis. My grandmother on my mom’s side was a professional tennis player (2x French Open Champ in doubles & mixed). My grandfather also played professionally with my grandmother and he also had some fantastic results. My mother played for TCU and my uncle played #1 at NC State — both on tennis scholarships. The family joke is actually that the level of skill decreases with each generation, ha! Sad news for my future kids.
Long story short, tennis has always been a part of my life and will likely always be. For my 15th birthday I didn’t want a traditional quinceañera, instead, my grandparents took me on a two-week trip to London to watch Wimbledon. Can you say spoiled brat? I’ve been so lucky to have witnessed some of the greatest tennis players of all time both on TV and in person. I’ve since been to Wimbledon, Roland Garros and the US Open multiple times and there’s nothing I like more than watching my idols play on some of the biggest stages in tennis.
I remember watching Maria Sharapova one year, wearing long dangly Tiffany earrings. So what did I do? I got long dangly (not Tiffany) earrings. I remember making my mother pay $90++ for the dresses that Sharapova was wearing. As part of her contract, she always had Nike design a dress for her that only she would wear and I always had to have it.
I remember watching Serena Williams verbally abuse a lines woman on live television at the US Open and I can’t even begin to explain the anger that I felt at that time.
I remember hearing about Richard Gasquet’s suspension for drugs and reading that he was blaming it on a woman kissing him at a nightclub. That he hadn’t taken drugs but that the woman had and she passed it to him through a drunken kiss.
What an interesting thing, fame is. We grow up taking hundreds of tennis lessons thinking we’re going to be the next big star, or at least I did. I felt like it was in my blood to be the next “greatest Mexican tennis player of all time” just like my grandmother once did. I remember looking up to all of these strangers on TV and taking things from them to implement to my game. It wasn’t even all tennis related either. Maria Sharapova wouldn’t step on the lines when she was walking in between points, so I wouldn’t step on the lines in between points. They always say kids are like sponges and are always absorbing what they see. That’s why it’s important not to curse while babysitting and to always do the right thing even when you think no one is watching. Sounds simple, right?
What we take for granted is that being the greatest tennis player of all time, or even just right now, comes with unwritten responsibilities and privilege. Novak Djokovic, arguably the greatest of all time, has broken my heart. Being the fantastic player that he is, with the platform that he has, he has disappointed me one too many times.
I can’t remember when the first time I saw him was but I believe it was at Wimbledon and I was so obsessed. He wasn’t the best back then but he was picking up steam. I had the biggest crush on his younger brother and had this insane fantasy that I would marry into the Djokovic family and that Novak would be my brother-in-law. I looked up to that entire family. I got to learn about the struggles of the Serbian people and understand their history. It made me wonder if you needed to come from nothing to become the best, because only then would you fight for the top spot like your life depended on it.
I remember collecting the order of play as soon as we walked into the Wimbledon lounge so that I could request tickets to the court where he was playing or practicing on. I would go watch him practice over watching any of the other top players play matches. I mean, the infatuation was beyond real. I was mesmerized by him. Remember when he would do those impersonations of other top players serving? Silly. He knew how to make people laugh and I loved that.
That same trip to Wimbledon, he pulled out of a match, quarterfinals, maybe? Reason for pulling out? Blisters on his toes. I still defended him to my friends and family. “How would your feet feel with blisters on your toes? You probably wouldn’t even step onto the court!” But I remember feeling sad and disappointed, knowing that that was a ridiculous reason to withdraw from a Wimbledon match. Pathetic, even.
Time passed and I watched each of his matches religiously. I followed him on social media, subscribed to his website, learned about his wife and the work she does for the Novak Djokovic foundation. I absolutely loved this man more than I had ever loved a stranger before. It was a strange feeling for me and it’s still a strange feeling for me now that I’m writing this. I call him Novak as if we are old friends.
I’ve changed so much over the years and so have my views, but I’m very much an all or nothing kind of person. I see things very clearly between wrong or right and don’t really do well with the gray area in between. It’s not one of my best qualities, if I’m being completely honest. So when it came to the year 2020, my perception of the world changed and many people broke my heart with what they were saying and standing for. Politics aside, the pandemic was the biggest eye opener for me. I hate needles and going to doctors and getting vaccinated, but you just do it. Not just for me, but for the safety of others. My duty to society.
When it comes to Novak Djokovic, he has been careless and irresponsible. While I will admit that he does try to use his platform for good at times — most of the time, even — he has just made some poor choices over the past two years that are unforgivable in my eyes. Because of the platform that he has, he has inherited and earned the privilege to influence people. It is his responsibility as a very public figure to be a role model to those watching. As I mentioned before, kids are like sponges and they’re always watching and mimicking the people they look up to. This is really not a pro vax post or a political post in any way, I swear, but just the blatant and constant disrespect for norms and guidelines from Novak are too much.
He is arguably the greatest of all time, and in my opinion he really is, there is no arguing his talent. But just because he is the best does that mean that he gets to do whatever he wants? Do people get to do whatever they want when they are at the top of their craft? Absolutely fucking not. Time and time again he has asked to bend the rules or pushed the boundaries in the most entitled ways.
At the height of what I like to call the first season of COVID, in the summer of 2020, Djokovic disregarded guidelines and held a fundraiser event. Many players, himself included became infected with the virus. His wife also tested positive and they had to be isolated from their children. Many people in attendance also tested positive following the event and for what? Sure, it is admirable that he is thinking about raising money in such a hard time but there are ways to do that without putting others at risk.
Two US Opens ago, Djokovic was defaulted from the tournament for accidentally hitting a lines person in the throat. Many people thought it was too harsh, but rules are rules. That’s a rule that is part of the game and all players know about it. Sure, we all throw temper tantrums on court and we don’t really care about the rules in the heat of the moment, but we all know that if when we hit the ball in frustration and hit the opponent, lines person, or ball kid on the fly, it is an automatic default. Was it his intention? Absolutely not. Is he a bad person for this? Absolutely not. But him trying to convince the chair umpire and the tournament director that it was an accident and he was sorry and that he shouldn’t be defaulted is entitled behavior. Why shouldn’t he be defaulted? Because he’s the best? If it had happened to anyone else, the outcome would have been the same. In fact, early in his career, Dennis Shapovalov had an unfortunate situation much like Djokovic’s at the US Open. What did Dennis do when this happened? He accepted the ruling and apologized. You can watch that recap HERE. Did he mean to do it? No. Was it worth the tantrum? Probably not, because it caused his Davis Cup team the points for that rubber.
Over the past few years, Djokovic has tried to break away from the ATP, which is the governing body for the men’s tennis association. Instead of mounting some sort of revolution and getting all of these male players to join his organization against the ATP, he could have tried to work through some of these issues in partnership with the ATP. He was the president of the ATP for 5 years, I’m sure he tried to have some conversations but I guess was just not happy with the outcome. In my experience, it’s much better and likely more successful to work in partnership rather than breaking off and attacking. Not to mention he didn’t even think to include any of the women. I get it — ATP is for male tennis players and WTA is for female tennis players and that’s the way it’s been for as long as I can remember. But in a time of change and forward thinking, don’t you think that if the men are facing some issues in their organization that maybe the women may be experiencing something similar? Just because the division between the ATP and the WTA have been separate for all these years doesn’t mean it has to continue to be that way. If what he and the Professional Tennis Players Association really stood for change in the game, then they probably shouldn’t leave out all the thousands of female players. I’m not saying that the ATP is or isn’t corrupt. Obviously I don’t know because I’m not involved but just the way this man goes about doing things doesn’t make sense to me.
Anyway, you’re probably seeing Djokovic’s name all over the place right now because of the drama around the Australian Open. To play in the first major of the year, players and staff must be vaccinated or medically exempt from being vaccinated. Only some of the vaccines are recognized as being vaccinated, for example I think the Sputnik vaccine is not enough for the tournament. In order to receive a medical exemption, players/staff must submit documentation and evidence for a reasonable exemption. This documentation is then reviewed by two different panels and apparently it is reviewed anonymously so that one player doesn’t get preferential treatment over another. Just a few days ago, Djokovic announced that the medical exemption he applied for was granted for the tournament and off to Australia he went.
Upon his arrival to Australia, he has been detained due to border officials rejecting his evidence to support a medical exemption from the country’s vaccination rules. He has not disclosed his vaccination status but I think it’s safe to assume that he is not vaccinated. He has now taken legal action to fight this and it just breaks my heart even more. Whether you agree with the vaccination rules that are in place in Australia (or elsewhere), you must abide by them. I’m triple vaxxed and I still needed a negative COVID test to enter the States. Do I like COVID tests? Absolutely not. In fact, I try very hard not to go anywhere and limit my exposure as much as possible in order to avoid having to get another COVID test. I have only had 3 tests during the entire pandemic because I genuinely hate them so much. I fucking hate them with a passion, but I get them when it’s required or if I’ve had a possible close contact.
My point is simple, when you go to someone else’s house, you have to abide by their rules whether you like it or not. Djokovic is entering a country that has strict vaccination policies in place. Just think about how earlier in the pandemic we were all in awe of Australia’s low positive rate. They had some of the strictest guidelines in place, and guess what? They worked then.
Is getting vaccinated a choice? Yes.
Is disclosing your vaccination status a choice? Yes.
Are there consequences to either of these previous questions — Not getting vaccinated and/or not disclosing vaccination status? Also yes.
Just because we may not like the consequences or results, doesn’t mean that we don’t have a choice to begin with. Novak Djokovic not being vaccinated is a choice he made and not being able to enter the country of Australia and therefore the Australian Open is a direct outcome of making that choice.
It is incredibly heartbreaking for me to watch someone who I really looked up to make poor choices. Though his intentions may be admirable at times, it’s not really “the thought that counts” because he’s not looking at the big picture. He’s never thinking about how his choices impact others or about the consequences of his actions. Why is it that everyone else can abide by the rules and he can’t? I loved and respected this man and I am incredibly grateful to have witnessed his incredible game throughout the years but I cannot support him based on everything he stands for these days.
