Djokovic’s Wife under fire after Naomi Osaka criticism

Jelena Djokovic, the wife of Novak Djokovic and an outspoken supporter of tennis, faced criticism online after commenting on an on court moment involving Naomi Osaka during her match against Sorana Cîrstea.

The moment, shared in a video on Instagram, showed Cîrstea appearing upset after Osaka shouted “C’mon” between Cîrstea’s first and second serve. Officials reviewed the situation during the match and ruled that Osaka had not violated any rules.

Jelena Djokovic disagreed and shared her thoughts in the comments section.

“Hmm, I’m surprised that this is not being called hindrance,” she wrote. “In between two serves, when crowds are applauding or shouting, the chair ump asks not to shout between serves as it is disturbing to the player.”

She explained why she felt the timing mattered.

“The point is not finished. Sorana missed her first serve and is focusing on getting in the second. It is a slight pause,” Jelena wrote. “And it is disrespectful to applaud at someone’s first serve mistake too.”

She then questioned whether the rules had changed.

“I am surprised that the chair or Naomi thought that was fair. Were there any rule changes that I missed?”

Her comments drew heavy pushback from other fans, many of whom defended Osaka. One reply read, “Stop it. That’s a whole bunch of words saying nothing.”

Another wrote, “Cry about it in the car. She couldn’t beat Naomi on any level, and her saying ‘c’mon’ had nothing to do with the loss.”

After receiving more than a hundred replies, Jelena posted a follow-up comment to clarify her position.

“There’s nothing wrong with pumping yourself up, and that’s not even the point of this comment. Sorry I wasn’t clear enough,” she wrote.

“It is about when and how. She, as a professional player, would know that it is definitely not in between the first and second serve of your opponent.”

She added that she felt the moment led to unnecessary tension.

“Unless you want to provoke. In this case, I don’t see why she is acting surprised at the end that Sorana got provoked,” Jelena wrote.

“Naomi is being cheered on by her fans for pumping herself, great. I just didn’t see her ever doing this to another player, so I thought it was a rule change or something.”