Here’s a fun paradox: the greatest tennis player of all time eats a fully plant-based diet, opened a vegan restaurant in Monte Carlo, executive-produced the most-watched vegan documentary ever made, and will still not call himself vegan. Not once. On principle.
So, is Novak Djokovic vegan? The most precise answer in sports: his plate says yes, his mouth says “I don’t like labels”. Both matter, and we’ll give you both.
QUICK ANSWER
Djokovic eats a fully plant-based diet (no meat, no dairy) and has for years, but he explicitly rejects the “vegan” label. His words at Wimbledon 2019: “I don't like the labels, to be honest. I do eat plant-based, for quite a few years already.” As of 2025/26, nothing has changed: still plant-based, still label-free.
Last fact-checked: July 7, 2026
How a gluten test rebuilt a champion
The transformation story is well documented because Djokovic wrote a book about it. In 2010, struggling with mid-match collapses, he was diagnosed with gluten intolerance by Dr. Igor Cetojevic. Gluten went first, then dairy, then refined sugar, then meat, step by step through the 2010s. His reasoning was pure performance engineering, as he put it in 2022: “Eating meat was hard on my digestion, and that took a lot of essential energy that I need for my focus, for recovery, for the next training session.”
Gluten intolerance discovered, plus dairy and refined sugar sensitivities. The overhaul begins.
2013: Serve to Win
His book about the diet transformation becomes a bestseller. Meat is already fading from the menu.
2016: Eqvita opens
He and wife Jelena open a vegan restaurant in Monte Carlo, gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free.
2018: The Game Changers
He executive-produces the plant-based athlete documentary alongside James Cameron, Lewis Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
July 2019: the label speech
Wins Wimbledon fully plant-based, then delivers the famous line: “I don't like the labels, to be honest… because of the misinterpretations of labels and misuse of labels, I just don't like that kind of name.”
August 2024: Olympic gold on plants
The last missing trophy, won in Paris at 37, fully plant-based.
2025: the routine, documented
Warm lemon water, celery juice, a green smoothie with hemp, spirulina and dates (“I love dates. Dates all day”), no coffee. Still plant-based, still no label.
Why won’t he just say it?
His stated reason is precision: “vegan” describes an ethical movement, and he sees his choice as personal and dietary, so he refuses a word that would make him a spokesperson. You can find that frustrating or refreshingly honest. What you can’t find is meat on his plate, and that’s been true through the most scrutinized athletic career of the century. The man won Olympic gold at 37 on lemon water, dates and lentils while journalists checked his lunch for years. Nobody’s ever caught a steak.
For the two athletes who handle the label question completely differently, read Lewis Hamilton (says “plant-based”, means it identically) and Venus Williams (invented her own word entirely).
Fact or fiction?
He owns a vegan restaurant. Fact or fiction?
Fact. Eqvita in Monte Carlo, opened 2016 with his wife Jelena.
He calls himself vegan in interviews. Fact or fiction?
Fiction. He consistently refuses the label while confirming the fully plant-based diet.
He won Olympic gold on a plant-based diet. Fact or fiction?
Fact. Paris 2024, age 37.
Quiz: how well do you know plant-based Novak?
Five questions, no cheating
1. What kicked off his diet transformation in 2010?
2. What's his Monte Carlo restaurant called?
3. Which documentary did he executive-produce?
4. What three drinks start his day?
5. Why does he reject the vegan label?
Is Novak Djokovic still plant-based in 2026?
Yes. The most recent reporting through 2025 confirms the same picture it has for a decade: fully plant-based diet, vegan-aligned business, zero interest in the label. Call him what you want. He’ll keep calling himself hungry for another title, presumably.
His stated reason is precision: “vegan” describes an ethical movement, and he sees his choice as personal and dietary, so he refuses a word that would make him a spokesperson. You can find that frustrating or refreshingly honest.
Fact or fiction?+
He owns a vegan restaurant. Fact or fiction? Fact. Eqvita in Monte Carlo, opened 2016 with his wife Jelena. He calls himself vegan in interviews. Fact or fiction? Fiction. He consistently refuses the label while confirming the fully plant-based diet.
Is Novak Djokovic still plant-based in 2026?+
Yes. The most recent reporting through 2025 confirms the same picture it has for a decade: fully plant-based diet, vegan-aligned business, zero interest in the label. Call him what you want. He’ll keep calling himself hungry for another title, presumably.
Veganism, animal welfare, climate, sustainability and wildlife, everything on our minds, lives on Plantbased, our podcast. We talk to people who have something to say and who show, through how they live, what's possible. Also a video podcast on YouTube.
Since 2019 · This Is Vegan · independent, vegan, sometimes uncomfortable
Get involved, not just informed
We fund ourselves through affiliate recommendations and our community. Check out our Community Deals for exclusive discount codes at carefully chosen plant-based partners. You pay nothing extra, we get to keep writing. Fair deal.
And on Spotify we'd love a positive rating for the Plantbased podcast. It takes 10 seconds and pushes us forward a lot.
Manage your privacy
We use technologies such as cookies to store and/or access device information. We do this to improve the browsing experience and to display personalized advertising. If you agree to these technologies, we can process data such as surfing behavior or unique IDs on this website. If you do not give or withdraw your consent, certain functions may be affected.
functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of allowing the use of a specific service expressly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a message over an electronic communications network.
Vorlieben
Die technische Speicherung oder der Zugriff ist für den rechtmäßigen Zweck der Speicherung von Präferenzen erforderlich, die nicht vom Abonnenten oder Benutzer angefordert wurden.
statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, the voluntary consent of your internet service provider, or additional recordings by a third party, the information stored or retrieved for this purpose cannot usually be used by itself to identify you.
marketing
Technical storage or access is necessary to create user profiles, to send advertisements or to track the user on a website or across websites for similar marketing purposes.
We use cookies to optimize our website and service.
functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of allowing the use of a specific service expressly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a message over an electronic communications network.
Vorlieben
Die technische Speicherung oder der Zugriff ist für den rechtmäßigen Zweck der Speicherung von Präferenzen erforderlich, die nicht vom Abonnenten oder Benutzer angefordert wurden.
statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, the voluntary consent of your internet service provider, or additional recordings by a third party, the information stored or retrieved for this purpose cannot usually be used by itself to identify you.
marketing
Technical storage or access is necessary to create user profiles, to send advertisements or to track the user on a website or across websites for similar marketing purposes.
.jpg){kind=link}