At the age of 38, after spending almost 22 years in the sport, attempting to build an illustrious career, the 24-time Grand Slam champion needs a bit of motivation to get things going. Speaking about what Novak Djokovic needs the most, even Serena Williams’ ex-coach admitted, “I believe that all Novak needs is motivation.” What is motivation according to the Serb? In October 2024, Djokovic answered this saying, “My main motivation comes from love and passion for the sport, and also the desire to keep competing.” Competing means going toe-to-toe with other big players. Talking about big players, he recently got to play a practice match with the women’s world number one, Aryna Sabalenka. What was his motivation this time, though?

Novak Djokovic’s friendship with the Belarusian is not a new thing in the tennis world, and this fun moment during their practice session was just another example of their unique camaraderie. Ahead of Wimbledon, both these tennis stars were spotted testing their skills against each other. Aryna Sabalenka was seen pushing hard enough to let her infamous loud grunt roar across the venue after each strike. Seeing this, Djokovic jokingly said, “That [grunt] would be a hindrance on the ATP Tour.” Sabalenka then replied to him, saying, “I thought we were friends?“

The practice session was full of fun and laughter, but talking about motivation, just before the start of this session, Novak Djokovic asked, “We need a little bit of extra motivation.” Aryna Sabalenka then said, “100 bucks.”

The Serb managed to hit the can first during this session, and following this successful attempt, he was heard screaming, “Yeah!” Just like he does after winning a match? Perhaps! But then Sabalenka said, “Congrats, you just won against a girl.. you proud of yourself?” Djokovic replied, “I’m so proud.“

However, later on, Aryna Sabalenka also managed to make a successful attempt against the Serb. After hitting the can, she said, “Give me my money. Do you have cash?” But then someone just said, “He just forgot his wallet.” The official IG page of Wimbledon captured this hilarious moment, and they shared it with fans through their IG handle with the caption, “A game of high stakes 🏦.“

Later on, Aryna Sabalenka‘s boyfriend, Georgios Frangulis, also posted a few glimpses of this fun practice session on his IG story with a cheeky caption, “This random dude can actually hit.” Having seen Djokovic and Sabalenka have such a lovely time at the practice session makes us keen to know more about their unique camaraderie. Let’s check out some more iconic moments of their friendship.

Aryna Sabalenka defends her close friend Novak Djokovic against critics

Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka share an incredibly warm and friendly relationship, which has often led to them engaging in banter. Just a few weeks ago, the Serb was spotted performing a hilarious mimicry of Sabalenka. After seeing this moment, the Belarusian came up with a response to Djokovic by dancing to her own song after a win at Roland Garros. She even teased him with a cheeky response, “How about that, Novak? You don’t have your song.” A tennis fan on IG had even posted a video, asking fans to rate their dance performance.

Seeing this, Novak Djokovic shared the video clip on his IG story, saying, “Of course I did it better.” Shortly after that, Aryna Sabalenka shared his post on her own IG story with the caption, “Hahaha you wish!!!” During the 2025 French Open, Djokovic was also spotted warmly embracing Aryna Sabalenka after her three-set win over Iga Swiatek in the semifinals.

Now, coming back to their incredible love, support, and respect for each other, in July 2023, Aryna Sabalenka made an honest admission, saying, “He’s a great guy, a very nice guy. I can easily ask him for advice and he would give it to me. It’s really good to have someone like Novak, a friend like someone like Novak, you can always ask for advice. I mean, I really appreciate for his help to me.” Then, last year, when she won the US Open, Novak Djokovic was among the first ones to congratulate her on her success.

Talking about showing support, just a few weeks ago, after seeing some question marks about Novak Djokovic’s ability to still compete at the highest level, Aryna Sabalenka gave a stern reply. She said, “You guys are trying to put as much pressure as you can on Novak. Leave him alone, look at him. He’s fit. He’s strong. Mentally and physically, I think he’s ready to play another 2 or 3 years. I don’t know. He’s doing really well. Of course, everyone has ups and downs. The older you get, the tougher it gets to stay consistent on the level. But we see whenever he’s ready, whenever he’s healthy and fit, he’s there. He’s playing great tennis. Just leave him alone. Let him just be.“

Now, with Wimbledon getting started in a few days, Djokovic is eyeing his eighth title at this iconic tournament, while Aryna Sabalenka is still in search of her first. Who between these two, do you think, has a better chance of lifting the title this year?