Article by Andra Mocanu – Published on Thursday, April 10, 2025, 19:04 / Updated Thursday, April 10, 2025 19:11
Bojana Jovanovic, 26, practiced tennis for 16 years, but decided to change the rocket and move to the pad, a transition that brought him fame, the opportunity to meet Novak Djokovic and over 200,000 followers on social networks.
For 16 years, Serbian Bojana Jovanovic practiced tennis at the level of juniors and, for a while, in ITF and even WTA tournaments, occupying the 545th place at the best time of career.
In 2024, she decided to change the tennis rocket with the paddle, a sport she says brings more satisfaction than the white sport did.
The transition and the quality of content creators, documenting their journey on social networks, brought him a level of fame that he does not enjoy as a athlete. It is now being watched by 234,000 people on Instagram and has filmed with Novak Djokovic, one of the largest tennis players of all time.
The 504th place in the women's world ranking at Padel, Bojana explained, at large, which pushed her to make the rock between rocket sports, declaring itself very happy with her choice.
Bojana Jovanovic: “In tennis I have never felt the happiness I feel on the forest land”
“It is a question that I have received often in recent months. For some it may seem like a decision overnight, but it took me a few years. In the last 2-3 years of tennis career I was not happy on the ground. There were many expectations from other people, after 15-16 years in tennis, and I felt so much pressure …
People were seeing me like a tennis player and I was thinking: «How will you give up now? How do you give up after 16 years in which you gave your life for something? ». But I realized that it was not an abandonment, that tennis brought me to the pad, that it opened new doors. No tennis, I would not have arrived so quickly at this level in the padl. Maybe I wouldn't have had the chance to play Padel.
In 2022 I went to Maldives to work as a tennis coach and there I was introduced into this world. I thought it was a rocket sport, similar to tennis, but to become a professional you need a lot of training.
In 2022 I wanted to continue in tennis, but I had not been happy in recent years. I always sought to get out of the comfort zone and I needed to try something new. I didn't want to leave other people to model my life. I wanted to be happy with what I was doing.
Last year, in the summer of 2024, I said I want to make an attempt with the pad. I think the biggest difference from tennis is that I don't put as much pressure on me. I want to enjoy every day on the ground. Sure, I have very big ambitions, I want to enter the top 150 world, but first of all I want to enjoy every day of this process.
I want to show people the whole trip, not just the bright and pleasant aspects. There are also negative things, days when you may not be satisfied with the workouts.
But I mean that In tennis I never felt the happiness I feel on the paddle land. I also appreciate that I have a person with me. In tennis you are always alone, you travel alone in tournaments, but here you have at least one person next to me and I really enjoy it, “she said.
