Novak Djokovic Sends Message to Aryna Sabalenka Amid French Open
Novak Djokovic Sends Message to Aryna Sabalenka Amid French Open originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Novak Djokovic is not letting Aryna Sabalenka one-up him in their battle — dance battle, that is.
Amid the French Open, Djokovic and Sabalenka have started a dance-off/victory pose showdown. It began when Djoker imitated Sabalenka's victory pose after he beat British star Cameron Norrie in the fourth round of the clay Grand Slam event.
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Djokovic did it on purpose to troll Sabalenka, even mentioning the world No. 1 of women's tennis.
It started an online back and forth between the two, but it didn't stop there. Sabalenka, for her part, responded to Djokovic with another dance following her win over Qinwen Zheng in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Sabalenka danced while her theme song, "Tiger," was played in the background. The Belarusian star then said, "How about that, Nole?"
On Wednesday, the 38-year-old Djoker had the perfect response to the obvious challenge as he celebrated his quarterfinal win over Alexander Zverev. While going down the stairs of Court Philippe-Chatrier, Djokovic did an air-guitar gesture before saying, "What about that, Sabalenka!"
Sure enough, Novak Djokovic's actions sparked a flurry of reactions, with the ATP Tour social media commenting with laughing emojis.
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"I love this back and forth and their friendship soooo much," a fan added. Another one shared, "Nole and Saba, like back in the days-winning duo. Now that's what I call a challenge and motivation. Winning and figuring a better choreography."
"Aryna & Novak have to win Roland Garros 2025 and dance together with their trophies," a follower remarked.
A viewer noted, "What a great match this was."
Tennis stars Novak Djokovic (left) and Aryna Sabalenka compete at the French Open.Susan Mullane-Imagn Images
It remains to be seen how Sabalenka will respond to Djokovic's challenge, but fans can certainly expect her to fire back should she win in the semifinals against Iga Swiatek.
Related: French Open Makes Coco Gauff Announcement on Wednesday
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 5, 2025, where it first appeared.
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