With his latest gold medal win at the 2024 Olympic Games, Novak Djokovic is the toast of the tennis world as he became only the third man in history to achieve the prestigious Golden Career Slam. But the Serb did something more admirable after that as he reportedly decided to donate all his winnings from the Olympics to different charitable organisations in his home country.
The Serbian government announced a cash prize of €200,000 for all the gold medal winners from their contingent. Following his win over Carlos Alcaraz in the final, Djokovic believes that the amount should go to “those who need it the most”.
A few days after this charitable act, the 24-time Grand Slam winner made it to the headlines again by confirming his participation in an exhibition match against Grigor Dimitrov in September after the US Open.
As per a tweet from a tennis influencer, the match will be a charity event conducted by the Grigor Dimitrov Foundation.
Grigor Dimitrov vs. Novak Djokovic in Sofia!
Charity exhibition match will be held on 17th September in Arena Sofia.
Organiser of the event is Grigor Dimitrov Foundation. More info to come soon. pic.twitter.com/C6Y7HccqoJ
— Krasimir (@lobdowntheline) August 6, 2024
Djokovic’s off-court controversies are often magnified by a large section of the tennis community as his charitable actions are often overlooked. However, this nicer side of his is something which is endearing and good for the sport.
Coming from humble beginnings in Serbia, Djokovic wants to give back to the needy in the society and is very emotional and passionate about it.
Djokovic and his philanthropy activities
Djokovic doesn’t look at charity as a PR stunt. Even before he won his first Grand Slam, the Olympics champion founded the Novak Djokovic Foundation in 2007.
“The other year I actually found out that the oldest tennis courts ever built in Serbia were kind of abandoned. We renovated those courts and now children from that town and small towns are able to play tennis or involving themselves in some form of a tennis program which is something that is really beautiful,” Djokovic added.
Apart from the activities through his foundation, Djokovic donated huge amounts of money during testing periods as the Russia-Ukraine War and COVID-19 prior to that.
In addition to the $1.2 million he pledged to purchase ventilators, and $5.5 million to healthcare departments, Djokovic also contributed an undisclosed amount to Rafael Nadal’s charity as well in Spain.
