Novak Djokovic’s Racquet – Player Profile

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Updated 17 Sep, 2024
Novak Djokovic needs no major introduction to most tennis fans, his stats speak for themselves and he is surely one of the greatest tennis player of all time. Djokovic has been endorsing the Head Speed model for years. But what is really Novak Djokovic’s tennis racquet?

Let’s find out more about Djokovic racquet, playing style, bio and much more below.

Novak Djokovic’s tennis racquet

Like in most cases with tennis professionals, what the player endorses and what he actually plays with are different things. This is also the case with Novak Djokovic’s tennis racquet. This doesn’t mean that amateurs will play much better using a so called pro stock tennis racquet but it does mean that in most cases the racquet companies are not being truthful to the customers. This is not new in any way and a lot of people know it, but the vast majority of people playing and enjoying tennis have no idea.

Djokovic endorses the following gear on Tennis Warehouse (USA), Tennis Warehouse Europe, and Tennis Only (AU).

The racquets of the top players are often shrouded in mystery, but once in a while it ends up in the hands of a fan or a stringer who either sells it on a tennis forum (where the specs are then revealed) or eBay or decides to keep it for himself. But let’s get back to Novak Djokovic’s tennis racquet.

Racquet Specs

Djokovic played until around 2018 with a model called something as sexy as PT113B. It’s based on an old model called Ti/iRadical from early 2000. This mold is very difficult to get a hold of.

[Pic from TT forum poster “NikeUp”.]

Here are the specs of Djokovic’s racquet:
Strung Weight: 359g (plenty of lead – see pic)
Strung balance: 32.8cm
Head size: 95 sq. inches
SW: 370
Flex: 60RA strung
Grip: 4 3/8, custom with side bevels extended making it more rectangular. Uses two overgrips over Head Calfskin. First overgrip wrapped with no overlapping, top overgrip normal.

Lead: placement all around the hoop, under the grommets then continues inside the hoop as shown on pictures.

Novak Djokovic’s current racquet

When Novak started working with Andre Agassi, Agassi brought in racquet expert Roman Prokes. They reduced the amount of lead tape on the racquet, cutting six grams in weight from 359 to 353 grams. The balance went down from 32,8 to 32,4 cm and they extended the length slightly to keep the swing weight high, but not too high. Novak’s racquet is just slightly longer than the standard length. The most significant change they made was to change the drill pattern from 18×20 to 18×19. The idea was to give Novak easier access to spin and depth without losing too much control from the dense 18×20.

Here are the strung specs of Novak’s new racquet setup (I own one of of his personal racquets)

Head size: 95 sq inches
Length: 27.10 inches
Weight: 353 grams
Balance: 32,4 cm balance
Swing weight: 360
String pattern: 18×19

Novak uses the classic HEAD rectangular grip (pallet TK57), grip size 3, HEAD Finest Calfskin leather grip and two overgrips (one overlapped) which makes the grip closer to a 4. He strings his racquets with natural gut in the mains at 27-28 kg and Alu Power Rough 16L at 26-27 kg (one kg less than the natural gut) depending on the conditions. This is quite a high tension these days and gives him an ultra-controlled response.

It’s not for everyone

Very few amateur players could comfortably play with a racquet that has a swing weight of 360 which means that it would have little value on the retail market and that’s why Djokovic “recommends” the Head Speed Pro or Head Speed MP. They are both fine racquets in their own right and gives you a little extra power compared to Novak Djokovic’s heavy and flexy stick.

So this is just the name of the game. Most recreational players will do fine with a retail racquet and need not worry about buying a pro stock racquet unless they really, really want to and have the budget for it. And if you’re not happy with your current racquet or haven’t found one with the specs you like, remember that you can always customise the racquet to your liking.

More on Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic is arguably the greatest tennis player of all time. In fact, it’s a widespread belief after the Serbian tallied 24 Grand Slam trophies so far in his career, along with 99 trophies overall.  

He holds the record for the most weeks as world No 1, along with plenty of other records that would require a book to list them all. Djokovic is undeniably one of the best players ever, and very likely the best of all time. Read on to find out all there is to know about the Serbian superstar.

Biography

Novak Djokovic was born in a country that no longer exists, called Yugoslavia. The country fell apart shortly after his birth, sending the region into a spiral of war and misery. It wasn’t the best time to be alive, and Djokovic remembers all of it.  

He’s spoken often about how that experience shaped him and, in general, how important those formative years in Serbia were. The tennis story started at age four after he was given a racquet as a gift—a toy that quickly became his favorite.  

He would start playing more seriously on Mount Kopaonik, where his parents ran a food shop, and slowly but surely, he showed himself to be rather promising despite working in very lackluster conditions.  

After showing more promise, he transferred to Germany to work under the watchful eye of former player Nikola Pilic, who had an academy there. Djokovic remained focused and worked hard in the coming years, getting better and better, all the way to the professional level.

Novak Djokovic Professional Career Overview

Even as a very young player, Djokovic showed himself to be quite dominant. He dominated the U14 events, and things didn’t change dramatically when he moved up to U16, as he continued to dominate his opposition, even beating future players such as Andy Murray and Gael Monfils.  

His professional debut came at age 15 after getting a wild card into a futures event near the Pilic Academy, but he didn’t win that one. The first proper win came a bit later in Belgrade, where he won the ITF event there, earning himself a ranking of 767th in the world at age 15.  

At age 17, Djokovic would finish in the top 200 after dominating at the Futures and Challenger levels. He would make his Grand Slam debut in 2005, aged 17, and it was a very solid year as Djokovic ended up in the top 100.  

His rise after that was exponential, as Djokovic’s first trophy came in 2006 when he was 18, and he never looked back. By 20, he had already stood in a Grand Slam final. His maiden major came the next year in Australia at age 21, though he would wait a while before winning his second.  

It came in 2011, a year when he won every one of them except the French Open. He would add one more in 2012, another in 2013, and one more in 2014. Then, Djokovic’s dominance started: in the second half of that decade he won 20 Grand Slams between 2015 and 2020.  

Since then, he’s added a few more, getting to 24, which is the most out of any male player ever. It’s also tied for the most Grand Slams ever, as Margaret Court has 24 as well. He has the most weeks as No 1, finishing as the year-end No 1 eight times as well.  

The overall number of trophies Djokovic has claimed across his career is 99, 40 of which are Masters trophies. Very few tennis players have had comparable careers, and nobody has had as great a one as Djokovic’s. Breaking it down without a book is very hard to do.  

It’s enough to say that he’s considered the best ever, and that tells you what kind of career we’re talking about.

Novak Djokovic’s Biggest Achievements

• Most Grand Slam trophies ever – 24
• Most weeks spent as world No 1 – 428
• Most Australian Open trophies ever – 10
• Won each Grand Slam at least three times
• Third on the list of players with most trophies in Open Era with 99 behind Roger Federer’s 103 and Jimmy Connors’ 109

What is Novak Djokovic’s Playing Style?

Novak Djokovic doesn’t have a signature playstyle, such as being an aggressive baseliner, a good server, or a great returner. Out of all those, “great returner” probably fits him best because he is widely considered to be one of the greatest returners the sport has ever seen.

His style, in general, can be described as balanced because he does everything well. He came into the sport as a player with a superb backhand, but over the years, he’s developed a really precise and deadly forehand.

His serve wasn’t the best early on, but he’s developed it so well that it became a major weapon, which is a big reason why he has been so good indoors over the past 10 or so years. Overall, he’s just a perfect blend of offense and defense, becoming the quintessential complete player.

Still, if there is one shot that he would bet his life on, it would probably be the backhand.

Who is Novak Djokovic’s Coach?

While Novak Djokovic has had a couple of coaches over the years, the name mostly associated with him is Marian Vajda. 

The Slovakian had been with Djokovic for much of his career, witnessing most of the great things he achieved. He’s so close with Djokovic that the Serbian describes him as family, and while they don’t work together anymore, that’s the name everybody will always think of when you mention the coach of Novak Djokovic.

He’s also worked with a couple of former players over the years, including Boris Becker, whom he credits with improving his game as well. More recently, he had been working with Goran Ivanisevic, and it was a very good partnership. He was able to win a couple of Grand Slams under him, but that partnership also ended in early 2024. 

These days, he doesn’t have an official coach, which is something new for him.

What is Novak Djokovic Best Known For?

While Novak Djokovic is mostly known for his great tennis, the Serbian has made headlines for the wrong reasons in the past. He’s had a couple of controversial moments on the tennis court but also a few outside. 

The US Open default remains one of the bigger controversies he was a part. Here, Djokovic was defaulted from the event for hitting a line umpire with a ball. Many considered that to be too harsh because he was widely expected to win that event, so it likely cost him a Grand Slam.

His deportation from Australia during the pandemic was also a huge deal. Djokovic famously refused to get vaccinated like the rest of his colleagues. He was branded as anti-vax but dismissed that as incorrect while remaining unvaccinated. This stance prevented him from entering the US later that year, so he might have cost himself two more Grand Slams due to his decisions.

He’s also made some political statements in the past which have been deemed controversial, though he’s never pretended not to be patriotic. 

The most notable tennis match Djokovic has been involved in was likely the 2019 Wimbledon final, where he saved match points against tennis legend Roger Federer to deny him the trophy.

Interesting Facts About Novak Djokovic

• He became super popular among fans early in his career because he did impressions of other players, which he has discontinued out of respect.
• Loves to have fun and doesn’t take himself too seriously outside of the tennis courts.
• Very curious about spirituality and alternative medicine, which he’s promoted in spite of criticism.
• He is a huge fan of sports in general and football in particular, supporting his native Crvena Zvezda and A.C. Milan.
• Credits changing his diet to a non-gluten one for all of his tennis success post 2010.
• Considers Pete Sampras his hero and him winning Wimbledon as a huge inspiration for his tennis.

Novak Djokovic’s Social Media Presence and Fan Engagement

Novak Djokovic has a very active social media presence, with over 15 million followers on Instagram and almost 10 million followers on X. He’s very active on both, posting frequently about things related mostly to his tennis career but also some other endeavors.

Novak Djokovic Net Worth

Novak Djokovic is one of the wealthiest athletes in the world, thanks to his hugely successful career. Obviously, tennis players earn prize money for every event they play, and Djokovic has earned almost $185 million from his tennis career alone.

Outside of tennis, Djokovic has had a lot of brand deals over the years, including Lacoste and others. He’s earned significant money from that as well, so his total net worth is assumed to be around $240 million, though that is a very rough figure.

Some of the more recent brand deals he has been involved in include a partnership with Hublot. His Lacoste deal is very famous, so much so that the company changed logos briefly to commemorate Djokovic.

He also has deals with Asics, Head, Waterdrop, SILA, and others, while some previous brand deals include Peugeot, Adidas, Seiko, Uniqlo and Mercedes-Benz. He is also rumoured to own a biotech company based in Denmark.

The Novak Djokovic Tennis Centre in Belgrade was also mostly financed by Djokovic, though he transferred ownership of that to the city of Belgrade. He also runs multiple charities in his native Serbia, mostly focusing on kids.