As a gesture of recognition towards athletes and in light of these Olympic Games, the Serbian government decided to give this financial reward to each of its athletes who won a gold medal in this edition of the Olympics. Following his victory in the tennis final against Carlos Alcaraz, Djokovic, instead of pocketing the money, preferred to offer it "to those who need it most."

His coach, Viktor Troicki, will also receive the same amount, as stipulated in the government’s reward scheme. Both thus join the club formed by shooters Zorana Arunovic and Damir Mikec, who last week received the financial prize after achieving the Olympic title in the mixed shooting discipline.

In addition to focusing on the winners, the Serbian government also rewards athletes who win silver with €100,000 and those who win bronze with €60,000 ($65,541). From there, the chances of increasing this list of fortunate athletes are quite high until the end of the Olympics.

Apart from Serbia, a total of 33 countries have confirmed that they will reward athletes who return home with a gold medal with a cash prize. Forbes magazine contacted them to find out the exact amounts.

Among all of them, the most generous is Hong Kong, which offers €706,000 to its champions, while Israel and Serbia occupy the second and third places in this peculiar ranking, with rewards of €252,000 and €200,000 respectively. Additionally, Serbia rewards all its Olympic medallists with a pension that is paid from the age of 40.

This is not the first time Djokovic has shown such acts of solidarity throughout his career. In 2007, the tennis player, along with his wife, created 'The Novak Djokovic Foundation', an organisation aimed at ensuring all children in Serbia have access to preschool education. In February 2024, they raised around $93,900 to build a kindergarten in a remote village in their country.

Djokovic Museum?

Serbia plans to build a museum honoring tennis legend Novak Djokovic, announced President Aleksandar Vucic. “We had the first discussions about the construction of the Novak Djokovic museum, which is expected to become another attraction for the city,” Vucic said on Tuesday.

Djokovic, a Belgrade native with 24 Grand Slam titles, is celebrated as a living legend in Serbia. He has managed a tennis academy and regularly attends sports events and meets with officials. 

“Palma de Mallorca has a museum dedicated to Rafael Nadal. We will strive to showcase what Djokovic has done for our country in accordance with his merits and at the same time attract tourists,” Vucic added. He hopes the museum will be completed before Belgrade hosts the World Expo in 2027.