How many languages does Novak Djokovic speak?

Tennis great and World rank #2 or #1 depending on when Rafael Nadal is not feeling well has dazzled tennis fans across the globe.

But did you know that behind his funny appearances, “the joker” as he is lovely nicknamed has mastered several languages?

Learn how many languages Novak Djokovic can speak in this inside expose about your favorite tennis player.

How Many languages does Djokovic Speak?

Does Djokovic Speak French?

The third member of the big three with Roger Federer (from Switzerland) and Spain own Raphael Nadal (they dominated world tennis for over a decade between 2008 and 2020) is no stranger to Moliere language.

As a French native speaker, I know that French has this enticing “je ne Sais quoi” in it that cannot leave you indifferent when immersed in its environment.

Since becoming professional in 2003, Djokovic has had many opportunities to acquaint himself with the “language of Love”.

Oui, Oui, Oui.

It may have taken Djokovic a few years to finally win his first of two French Open (June 2016 – he will have Senior Nadal to blame for that), but by the time he accepted his first trophy at Roland Garros, he already knew how to do a full acceptance speech in French.

If you ever watch Djokovic press conferences in French, you get the impression this man of the world really prides himself for mastering the language.

It is effortless.

He chooses his French words so carefully for he knows all the nuances a small detail can add.

Tennis Great Novak Djokovic speaking French in Paris

Above is a very short YouTube video where Djokovic talks about what motivates him to keep coming to Paris to play each year.

Does Novak Djokovic Speak Spanish?

Yes, Novak Djokovic like many professional tennis players speak Spanish.

Now, you could be thinking this is because one of his Big Three glorious compadre is Spanish.

Maybe, maybe not.

However, here is the truth about these Top professional athletes.

They way to grow their fan base away for their home country is by being able to relate to those fans.

What is better than a language to do so?

Try this social experiment anytime you can.

Anytime you want someone sympathy and you are able to speak their language, your chances skyrocket right there.

Side story how in African if you want to marry a lad y from a different tribe, your ability to speak that tribe language goes a long way into reducing the dowry price.

Therefore, Novak is smart and recently learned Spanish to attract the sympathy of the Madrid and Barcelona (maybe a reach here since Catalan is the main language here) faithful.

Watch Novak Djokovic speak Spanish at the Madrid Tournament in 2022

How does Novak Djokovic speak so many languages?

In order to gain some perspective on Novak Djokovic ability to speak 6 languages, let’s remember that Novak comes from a mixed family heritage.

His father Srdan is from Serbia while his mother Dijana (born Zagar) is of Croatian descent.

Before he ever held a racket, his ears were already used to hearing different languages.

Later on, at age 12, he moved to a Tennis Academy in Germany to perfect his tennis craft.

I can relate to what Novak must have gone through from a language learning point of view.

I arrived in Paris, France at age 13 from my beloved Cameroon and was immersed in an all-French culture.

In the case of Novak, learning German at a young age was a necessity to communicate with the locals.

It must have been at the same time he was learning English as well because in a context of multiple young international tennis students, English had to be the common language for all of them.

Much later in life, Novak include other languages to his repertoire such as Italian, Spanish, French and even Russian more recently.

Is it Easy to learn a new language when you already speak one?

The situation Novak must have gone through to learn so many languages is not uncommon to a lot of foreign people (I mean non-American people).

For starters, most people study 2 other languages in schools by the time they are 18 years old.

I studied English and German as part of my curriculum in France.

Therefore, by the age of 18, I was fluent in 4 languages already (English, German, French and one language from Africa).

Looking back over that experience suggest to me it is a little bit easier to take on a new foreign language when you have already mastered one.

Easy for me to say now that I still recall the word “work” in French and German.

The French say “le travail” (with a masculine pronoun) while the Germans say “Die Arbeit” (with a feminine pronoun)!

My German teacher at the time suggested that we remember that it is feminine in German because the women are the ones doing ALL the work: true story.

Novak Djokovic Full Bio

FUN FACTS

Full Name Novak Djokovic

Place of Birth Belgrade, Serbia

Date of Birth (Age) May 22, 1987 (age 35 as of 2022)

Occupation Professional Tennis Player | Entrepreneur

Highest World Ranking #1 for 373 weeks

Career Prize Money $220 million

Achievements 21 Grand Slams won in Singles

People Also Ask FAQs on Djokovic Spoken Languages

How do you Say Thank you in Serbian?

People say thanks in Serbia with the words: Hvla, “Hvala tebi” and “Hvala vama”.

“Haval tebi” is used in response to somebody being grateful with their initial “Hvala ti”.

How do Serbian greet each other?

Serbian people greet each other with a handshake.

In a social situation, if you are meeting someone for the first time, you can say “kako ste” which means “how are you”.

In the video above of Novak speaking Spanish, the Spanish interviewer uses “kako ste” at the very beginning to put Novak at ease.

Smart as Novak is, he proceeded into switching to Spanish.

If you want to say, “nice to meet you” in Serbian, you will say “Drago mi je”.

What languages do Serbians speak?

People from Serbian mostly speak Serbian.

Because of the history in that region, you may find people in Serbia who speak Croatian as well

Remember how we learned earlier that Novak’s father is Serbian while his mom is Croatian, well this is a good example of the mixed culture.

The two languages Serbian and Croatian differ in their alphabets.

A Croatian person can well understand what a Serbian person is saying and vice versa.

What is Novak Djokovic first language?

At a very young age, Novak Djokovic firs learned how to speak Serbian while living in Belgrade.

Now that he is an adult, I am not certain which language will come first to his mind.

I can tell you my own experience.

There are three languages I can communicate with my wife.

Frankly, I have no idea anymore which language is my first language.

It depends on the circumstances which one pops up to my brain first.

My sister told me the other day that my English delivery of a reproach is quite soft and not abrasive at all.

I need to go now study the nuances of my different tones in each one of my languages:-)

Which Tennis player speaks the most languages?

The world tennis Tour has a great deal of polyglots, but I think Novak comes on Top of this list by at least one language.

Other famous tennis players who are Polyglots:

How often do you change balls in tennis?

When you are watching a tennis match and hear the umpire say, “New balls, please”, have you ever wondered how often the balls are changed in tennis.

Well, balls are changed every seven games in tennis so that the quality of the balls does not drop and affect regular play.

If you have ever played tennis with old balls (deflated or overused), it can be very difficult and frustrating to control the ball.

Sometimes, used tennis balls can even cause “tennis elbow” injury because of the strength your arm has to convey through the racket to make the ball goes as fast as you want.

I taught myself to play tennis with my virtual Coach Serena Williams over the years.

I mastered her serve by just watching her recorded or live matches.

There is nothing like old tennis balls to dampen your serves.

If you are wondering what happen to the old tennis balls, that is another story for another day.

What Is Novak Djokovic Net Worth?

Novak Djokovic is worth over $220 million according to Forbes, the majority of which comes from tennis prize money.

He totals over $158 million of earnings as of this writing.

That makes him the all-time leader in earnings in tennis history.

His great advantage over his 2 major companions from the Big Three is that Novak has had an injury free career so far for the most part.

Therefore, he has been able to increasingly grow his worth on and off the tennis courts.

How much does Novak Djokovic earn from Lacoste?

Novak contract with Lacoste earns him in excess of $10 million each year.

Some of that money is tied to bonuses from on-court tennis results.

Novak also has other deals with the likes of Asics, Hublot and head just to name a few.

How much does Tennis player Novak Djokovic pay his coach?

Novak Djokovic has had other tennis great such as Andre Agassi and Boris Becker as coaches before.

It is not disclosed how much their collaboration was worth to the eyes of his party.

Goran Ivanisevic, Croatian tennis royalty now serves as Novak new Coach.

Do you Know Tennis Player Milos?

Anytime I think of Novak Djokovic, my brain makes this association with a Seinfeld episode about a tennis player and salesperson “Milos”.

Should you have a few minutes to spare, indulge in this bizarre scenario only that Seinfeld world can rationalize.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON How Many Languages Novak Djokovic Can Speak

Novak Djokovic has enjoyed a great career on the Tennis courts.

His legacy will be one of a great tennis player but also one a citizen of the world who embraced many languages to be able to relate to his fellow human beings.

That fact alone is more commendable that any other achievement we can amass because it means we are making the world a better place.