In 1999, Novak Djokovic left war-torn Serbia for a tennis academy in Germany at just 12; years later, the boy who trained through bombing raids had become a 24-time Grand Slam champion
In 1999, Serbia was under NATO bombs, and 12-year-old Novak Djokovic left Belgrade for Niki Pilic’s tennis academy near Munich. He had been practising in a drained swimming pool and sheltering from air raid sirens. His parents had little spare money, yet a former coach made one phone call that opened the door. Twenty-seven years on, that boy holds 24 Grand Slam titles , more than any other man in history.
Why a 12-year-old left Serbia for a German tennis academy in 1999Novak Djokovic grew up around the courts at Kopaonik, the mountain resort where his parents ran a family restaurant. Jelena Gencic, who had coached Monica Seles and Goran Ivanisevic, spotted him there at six and saw something rare. By 11, he had outgrown what Serbia could offer. The country was isolated, tournaments were hard to reach, and the sparring partners he needed simply were not there.
Gencic knew who could fix that. Pilic, a Croatian-born former Roland Garros finalist, had coached Boris Becker and captained Germany in the Davis Cup. His academy in Oberschleissheim, just outside Munich, was one of the best-known tennis schools in Europe. Gencic called him, and Pilic agreed to take the boy.
Money was the obstacle. Djokovic’s parents had no savings to cover fees and living costs abroad, and by his own telling over the years, the family leaned on loans and relatives. Everyone involved understood the move was a gamble on a child. Nobody could promise it would work.
What training during the NATO bombing looked likeThe bombing campaign ran for 78 days, from March 24 to June 10, 1999. Djokovic was 11 when it started and turned 12 in the middle of it. Sirens sent families into basements, often in the middle of the night. Sleep was broken, and school and normal life were put on hold.
Tennis kept going in odd shapes. Belgrade’s tennis club had an empty swimming pool, and the players used it as a court. It was cramped and bare, but it was somewhere to hit a ball. Djokovic has often described those weeks as frightening, and he has also said they shaped how he sees the world.
It would be easy to turn that into a neat origin story, and that would be a mistake. Plenty of children lived through the same bombing and did not become champions. What stands out is narrower. Djokovic learned early that conditions are rarely perfect, and that you play anyway. Decades later, he wins long matches in awful heat, on bad days, against opponents ten or fifteen years younger. That habit looks a lot like the pool in Belgrade.
How Pilic’s academy shaped him in MunichLeaving later that year meant leaving everything. Djokovic arrived in Germany at 12 with limited German, no family and a lot of homesickness. He stayed for roughly four years, through his early teens, and the academy gave him what Belgrade never could. He had daily competition, a full-time schedule and coaches who had worked with Grand Slam winners.
There is also a quieter lesson here. Many talented juniors fail because they never find a place that stretches them. Djokovic found one by luck and by one coach’s phone call. His career is often described as pure grit, but it also depended on someone opening the right door at the right moment.
From Pilic’s courts to 24 majors and a record that still movesThe results came steadily after that. Djokovic won his first ATP title in Amersfoort in 2006 and his first major at the 2008 Australian Open . He reached world No. 1 on July 4, 2011, and has spent more than 400 weeks at the top of the rankings. He now owns 24 major titles, split among 10 Australian Opens, seven Wimbledons, four US Opens and three French Opens. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, he added the one prize that had eluded him, a gold medal.
At 39, he is still in the mix. In January 2026 he beat Jannik Sinner in five sets in the Australian Open semifinals, then lost the final to Carlos Alcaraz in four. At Wimbledon in July, Sinner beat him 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals. Djokovic said a result like that would delight most players but was “not enough” for him.
That sentence says a lot. The standard he sets for himself has not changed since a 12-year-old boarded a plane to Germany. Asked whether the Wimbledon loss might have been his last match on Centre Court, he pushed back on the idea and left the door open for next year.
Why a 12-year-old left Serbia for a German tennis academy in 1999Novak Djokovic grew up around the courts at Kopaonik, the mountain resort where his parents ran a family restaurant. Jelena Gencic, who had coached Monica Seles and Goran Ivanisevic, spotted him there at six and saw something rare. By 11, he had outgrown what Serbia could offer. The country was isolated, tournaments were hard to reach, and the sparring partners he needed simply were not there.
Gencic knew who could fix that. Pilic, a Croatian-born former Roland Garros finalist, had coached Boris Becker and captained Germany in the Davis Cup. His academy in Oberschleissheim, just outside Munich, was one of the best-known tennis schools in Europe. Gencic called him, and Pilic agreed to take the boy.
Money was the obstacle. Djokovic’s parents had no savings to cover fees and living costs abroad, and by his own telling over the years, the family leaned on loans and relatives. Everyone involved understood the move was a gamble on a child. Nobody could promise it would work.
What training during the NATO bombing looked likeThe bombing campaign ran for 78 days, from March 24 to June 10, 1999. Djokovic was 11 when it started and turned 12 in the middle of it. Sirens sent families into basements, often in the middle of the night. Sleep was broken, and school and normal life were put on hold.
Tennis kept going in odd shapes. Belgrade’s tennis club had an empty swimming pool, and the players used it as a court. It was cramped and bare, but it was somewhere to hit a ball. Djokovic has often described those weeks as frightening, and he has also said they shaped how he sees the world.
It would be easy to turn that into a neat origin story, and that would be a mistake. Plenty of children lived through the same bombing and did not become champions. What stands out is narrower. Djokovic learned early that conditions are rarely perfect, and that you play anyway. Decades later, he wins long matches in awful heat, on bad days, against opponents ten or fifteen years younger. That habit looks a lot like the pool in Belgrade.
How Pilic’s academy shaped him in MunichLeaving later that year meant leaving everything. Djokovic arrived in Germany at 12 with limited German, no family and a lot of homesickness. He stayed for roughly four years, through his early teens, and the academy gave him what Belgrade never could. He had daily competition, a full-time schedule and coaches who had worked with Grand Slam winners.
Pilic’s influence went beyond technique. He ran a demanding place, and a boy from a war zone had to fit into a structured, international group of players who were often older and stronger. Djokovic reportedly thrived on that pressure. He won junior titles in Europe in 2001, and by 2003 he had turned professional.
There is also a quieter lesson here. Many talented juniors fail because they never find a place that stretches them. Djokovic found one by luck and by one coach’s phone call. His career is often described as pure grit, but it also depended on someone opening the right door at the right moment.
From Pilic’s courts to 24 majors and a record that still movesThe results came steadily after that. Djokovic won his first ATP title in Amersfoort in 2006 and his first major at the 2008 Australian Open . He reached world No. 1 on July 4, 2011, and has spent more than 400 weeks at the top of the rankings. He now owns 24 major titles, split among 10 Australian Opens, seven Wimbledons, four US Opens and three French Opens. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, he added the one prize that had eluded him, a gold medal.
At 39, he is still in the mix. In January 2026 he beat Jannik Sinner in five sets in the Australian Open semifinals, then lost the final to Carlos Alcaraz in four. At Wimbledon in July, Sinner beat him 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals. Djokovic said a result like that would delight most players but was “not enough” for him.
That sentence says a lot. The standard he sets for himself has not changed since a 12-year-old boarded a plane to Germany. Asked whether the Wimbledon loss might have been his last match on Centre Court, he pushed back on the idea and left the door open for next year.
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