*NINE TIMES BEST TENNIS PLAYER IN SERBIA AWARD WINNER!*
Jelena Janković (born 28 February 1985) is a Serbian former tennis player.
Janković was born in Belgrade, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, as the third child of Veselin and Snežana, both economists. She has two brothers, Marko and Stefan.
She is a student at the Megatrend University in Belgrade, studying economics.
However, she has put her course of study on indefinite hold as she continues to pursue her tennis career.
Janković learned her first tennis skills at the Tennis Club ‘Red Star’.
She was introduced to tennis by her elder brother and fitness coach Marko. She later trained at the Tennis Academy of Nick Bollettieri.
As a junior, she won the 2001 Australian Open and reached junior no. 1 in the world.
In 2001, she started to play on the WTA Tour; she reached the second round at her first tournament at the Indian Wells Open.
Janković reached the top ranking before her career-best major performance, a runner-up finish at the 2008 US Open.
She won 15 WTA Tour singles titles and two doubles titles, with career highlights that include winning the 2007 Wimbledon mixed-doubles title partnering Jamie Murray.
On 5 December 2007, Janković became a UNICEF National Ambassador for Serbia, Janković is the second Serbian tennis star to have volunteered to help promote the rights of children and collect funds for UNICEF after Ana Ivanovic became an ambassador in September.
Janković is a cousin of Serbian singer Dijana Janković, internationally better known as Didi J. On 6 April 2021, Janković gave birth to a baby girl in Belgrade, Serbia.
She was the year-end world No. 1 in 2008, the first player in the history of the WTA Tour to do this without winning a Grand Slam title.
Janković did not participate in any WTA tournaments before the suspension of the tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Janković announced on Instagram that she would participate in an exhibition tournament in Belgrade, partnering with Novak Djokovic in a mixed doubles match.
This was her first tennis match since September 2017. After the match, Janković admitted that she still was uncertain about a possible comeback on the professional tour.
Janković eventually announced her retirement in July 2022.
