Novak Djokovic reveals he and Goran Ivanisevic “liked” to watch Elena Rybakina’s matches as the 37-year-old is now rooting for his former coach to achieve success with the Kazakh.

After parting ways with the Serbian tennis star in April, the Croatian tennis legend took some time before accepting any of the offers he received.

And in November, he officially came back to coaching after the WTA world No. 6 announced he was joining her staff for the 2025 season.

Djokovic, who won 12 Grand Slams during his six-year with Ivanisevic, was asked at the Brisbane International how he felt about the Rybakina and Ivanisevic collaboration.

“I was actually happy, because… we actually like Elena, the way she plays and how she is as a person. When he used to work with me, we always liked to watch her play,” the record 24-time Grand Slam champion said.

“So I was happy to hear the news that they are together. Hopefully Goran can contribute in a positive way to her game, to her success… I wish them all the best.”

After joining the 25-year-old’s team, the Croatian acknowledged that one of the reasons he accepted the offer was his belief that the Kazakh had the potential to do major things in the future.

And the Serbian tennis star agrees with that claim about the 2022 Wimbledon winner.

“She’s a top player. She’s won a Grand Slam already, and she knows how that feels. I’m sure she’s hungry for more and she seems to be very motivated. She started off the season, I saw, with a couple of good wins,” Djokovic said of Rybakina.

In the same interview, the current ATP world No. 1 also noted he would like to see the Kazakh and Ivanisevic “lift some big titles together.”