Novak Djokovic has been a household name for as long as many of us can remember. Despite his recent form he is widely considered the greatest tennis player of all time and he has held the world number one ranking in men’s tennis for a record total of 428 weeks across 13 different years. He has won 24 Grand Slams and broken numerous records. So of course, even after his latest defeat, many people are asking: what’s his secret?
Djokovic’s diet, in particular, is a constant topic of speculation. Whenever he’s in the news, articles spring up claiming that he has had to break his strict vegan diet and resort to meat consumption in order to improve his performance.
These articles cite quotes from Djokovic’s former coach, Marian Vajda, who suggested that the tennis player should add animal protein to his diet to prepare for Wimbledon 2018.
It’s true; Djokovic hasn’t always followed a plant-based diet. In his 2013 book Serve to Win, he laid out meal plans that included animal protein, particularly fish.
Based on these out-dated sources – which are cited every time Djokovic makes the news – it may seem like the Grand Slam winner has had to give up on his plant-based diet in order to keep up his record-breaking success.
But that isn’t true.
In fact, many sources indicate that Djokovic is back to following a plant-based diet. Our most recent indication that he isn’t vegan comes from all the way back in 2018, when his coach was interviewed on the topic. And since then, Djokovic has been clear: he follows a plant-based diet.
In a 2020 interview, he credited his plant-based diet with alleviating allergies he’d had since childhood. He also said that eating red meat “was hard on [his] digestion and that took a lot of essential energy that [he needed]… for the next match”. In the same interview, he broke down his average daily diet – which was 100% plant-based.
Since then, there have been no further indications that Djokovic has departed from a plant-based diet. In fact, in 2022, a reporter confirmed the tennis star ordered exclusively vegan items when he was staying at a hotel.
In the past, Djokovic has shrunk away from using the word “vegan”, preferring to refer to his diet as plant-based.
But whatever he calls it, he is committed to the lifestyle. And not just for health reasons; Djokovic has ethical concerns about the food industry, too.
In a 2020 interview he stated: “[Being plant-based] is a lifestyle. More than just a diet because you have ethical reasons as well. Being conscious of what is happening in the animal world and you know the slaughtering of animals and farming and everything… There is obviously a huge impact as well on climate change that people maybe don’t talk about as much.”
In 2018, Djokovic was an Executive Producer on the Game Changers, a documentary about athletes who follow plant-based diets. Way back in 2016, he opened a vegan restaurant in Monte Carlo – which, sadly, has since closed.
So watch out for misinformation this summer. Remember what Djokovic himself said about his plant-based diet:
“My diet hasn’t just changed my game, it’s changed my life—my wellbeing. And if I feel better, that obviously transfers to my professional life. Eating vegan makes me more aware of my body on the court… more alert.”