Jelena Janković is a Serbian former professional tennis player born on 28 February 1985 in Belgrade, then part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Turning professional in 2000, she rose to become one of the most successful Serbian players of her era, holding the world No. 1 ranking in women’s singles for a total of 18 weeks, including as the year-end No. 1 in 2008.
After retiring in 2022, she has largely withdrawn from public life, focusing on family; she is married to doctor Branko Barać and they have a daughter named Una.
She has lived in places including Dubai and the United States in recent years while maintaining strong ties to Serbia.
Siblings
Jelena is the youngest of three children born to parents Veselin and Snežana Janković, both economists.
She has two older brothers, Marko and Stefan.
Marko, the eldest, introduced her to tennis when she was about nine and a half years old and also served as her fitness coach in the early stages of her development.
Marko has worked as a coach and is married to model Isidora Stančić; the couple have a daughter named Lena.
Stefan has remained even more private, with little public information available about his personal or professional life.
Career
Janković began playing tennis at Tennis Club Red Star in Belgrade after her brother Marko introduced her to the sport.
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She later trained at Nick Bollettieri’s academy in Florida. As a junior she won the 2001 Australian Open girls’ singles title and reached the world No. 1 junior ranking.
On the professional tour she steadily climbed the rankings, breaking into the top 100 in 2003 and winning her first WTA title in Budapest in 2004.
Her breakthrough came in 2007, when she captured multiple titles including Tier I events in Charleston and Rome, finished the year ranked No. 3, and won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title with Jamie Murray – the first Grand Slam title for a Serbian woman.
In 2008 she reached the US Open singles final (losing to Serena Williams), ascended to world No. 1 on 11 August, and became the first player in WTA history to finish a year as No. 1 without having won a Grand Slam singles title.
She remained a consistent top player for years, reaching three French Open semifinals (2007, 2008, 2010), an Australian Open semifinal (2008), and multiple WTA Finals semifinals.
Over her career she compiled a singles record of 644 wins and 370 losses, won 15 WTA singles titles and two doubles titles, earned more than $19 million in prize money, and represented Serbia at three Olympic Games as well as in Fed Cup (now Billie Jean King Cup) competition.
After back surgery in late 2017 she did not return to full competitive play and formally retired in 2022.
Accolades
Among her major achievements, Janković was ranked world No. 1 for 18 weeks and finished 2008 as the year-end No. 1.
She won 15 WTA Tour singles titles, including high-level events such as the Italian Open (twice), Charleston, Cincinnati, and Indian Wells.
Her sole Grand Slam title came in mixed doubles at Wimbledon in 2007 with Jamie Murray.
She reached one Grand Slam singles final (2008 US Open) and multiple major semifinals.
Additional honours include being named ITF World Champion in 2008, serving as a UNICEF National Ambassador for Serbia, and receiving the Order of Karađorđe’s Star, a high Serbian state decoration, in 2017.
She also earned Olympic quarterfinal appearances and strong Fed Cup results for her country.
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