Novak Djokovic heartbroken as Wimbledon star killed in car crash

Novak Djokovic has expressed his condolences following the death of Tatjana Jecmenica-Jevtic, Serbia's former Fed Cup captain, who died in a car accident. Reports from Serbia suggest the 47 year old and her husband, Darko Jevtic, were trapped in an SUV which crashed with a lorry.

Jevtic is understood to be alive but in an induced coma with life-threatening injuries, remaining in critical condition. The collision is reported to have taken place on the city road bypass, a motorway circling the Serbian capital Belgrade, at approximately 9pm on Friday.

Djokovic acknowledged the tragic news on Saturday by sharing a post from the Serbian tennis Instagram account U Penjanju. The post includes a black and white photograph of Jecmenica-Jevtic, who competed at Wimbledon in teh 1990s.

Their message, translated from Serbian into English, states: "Tatjana Jemenica-Jevti (July 4, 1978 - February 13, 2026), former tennis player and coach of the Fed Cup team of Serbia, died tonight in a car accident in Belgrade. Tašo, rest in peace."

Djokovic echoed their words, writing: "May your soul rest in peace.", 

He accompanied his tribute with folded hands and red heart emojis.

Olga Danilovic, Serbia's current top-ranked women's singles player, has spoken extensively about Jecmenica-Jevtic. She shared with Sport Klub: "I still can't believe it. Tasa is part of my fondest memories from my junior years. We won many tournaments, perhaps the most important being the junior Roland Garros doubles.

"We spent a lot of time together. The positive energy and adrenaline in her presence were never lacking. She taught me to be aggressive and to always believe in that game.

"She played very well, and there were times in practice when I couldn't take a point from her.

Danilovic added: "(Husband) Darko and (son) Aleksa were her everything in the world, and our long trips were hard for her. She lived to make them happy.

"When we would return from tournaments, Darko and Aleksa would come halfway to wait for us because she missed them so much. I am infinitely sorry."

Jecmenica-Jevtic achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 72 in singles and No. 88 in doubles, both during the summer of 1996. Yet the following year, her long-standing coach, Dragan Ciric Seki, also perished in a car accident, after which she stepped away from the sport for six months before eventually ceasing singles competition to concentrate on doubles for seven years until retiring in 2005.