Jelena Janković Serbian: Јелена Јанковић, born February 28, 1985) is a Serbian professional tennis player who is currently 5th in the world.Janković learned her first tennis skills in Tennis Club 'Red Star'. As a nine-and-a-half year old she was introduced to tennis by her elder brother and fitness coach Marko. She was later trained at the Tennis Academy of Nick Bollettieri. As a junior she won the 2001 Australian Open. In 2001, she started to play on the WTA Tour; she reached the second round at her first tournament at the Indian Wells Masters.
In October 2003, Janković entered the top 100 at No. 90 for the first time after winning her first ITF title in Dubai. Three months later, Janković garnered her first top 10 win against Elena Dementieva 6–1, 6–4 in the first round of the 2004 Australian Open. In May, Janković won her first WTA title, a Tier V event, in Budapest, defeating Martina Suchá in the final 7–6, 6–3. Following her win in Budapest, she reached No. 51 in the world. Elsewhere in her 2004 season, she defeated top 20 players Nadia Petrova (twice), Vera Zvonareva, Patty Schnyder and Paola Suárez. Janković finished 2004 ranked No. 28 in the world.
She was ranked World No. 1 for seventeen consecutive weeks until she was overtaken by Serena Williams on February 2, 2009. She was the year-end World No. 1 in 2008, the first player in the history of the WTA tour to do this without winning a Grand Slam title. As of August 3, 2009, she is ranked World No. 5.
Janković has reached the singles final of the US Open and the singles semifinals of the Australian Open and the French Open. In 2007, she won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title with British partner Jamie Murray.
elena Jankovic is often regarded as one of the fittest and toughest players in recent years of women's tennis for her great defensive abilities and footwork, which classifies her as a counterpuncher. Jelena is known for being one of the few players who can slide on all surfaces, further enhancing her defense. In 2007, she played more matches than any other player and maintained her third rank as well, which is the proof of her incredible stamina and well-balanced performance. Jankovic has very consistent ground strokes and likes to go down the line more often than crosscourt. Her signature shot is her two-handed backhand down the line; she hits it with excellent pace and can drive it deep for an outright winner and also the fact that she can hit her backhand any angle from her court position. She also has a solid forehand and a decent net game, being able to hit effective drive, drop and swinging volleys. Her main weakness is the fact her serve is very attackable. She likes to spin it in on the first and second serve which can lead to her getting broken many times in matches against good baseline players.
Janković was born in Belgrade, in then Yugoslavia, now Serbia, as the third child of Veselin and Snežana Janković, both economists. Her mother is from Serbia and her father is from Montenegro (Vasojevići clan). She also has two brothers, Marko and Stefan. She is a student at the Megatrend University in Belgrade, studying economics; however, she has put her course of study on indefinite hold as she continues to pursue her tennis career. She trained at tennis club "Crvena Zvezda".
The British press have linked Janković and Jamie Murray romantically but she has remained coy about their relationship, though she joked in interviews that she used kisses as a way of motivating the Scot.
Off-court, Janković has done work in film, starring in Jelenin svet (Jelena's World) in 2008, a documentary about her life. Janković portrayed herself; Justine Henin, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Ana Ivanović and other notable players also featured. In September 2008, Janković announced that she has been dating Montenegrian water polo player Mlađan Janović since August 2008. The pair had been dating since the 2008 Summer Olympics.
On December 5, 2007, Janković became a UNICEF National Ambassador for Serbia, for Children's Fund. "I am happy to have become a UNICEF ambassador for Serbia. This is a great honour for me and I will try to justify the role that has been given to me", she said. Janković is the second Serbian tennis star to have volunteered to help promote the rights of children and collect funds for UNICEF after Ana Ivanović became an ambassador in September.
Janković had endorsed Reebok sportswear, and had her own line with them for her tournament wear, but now is with Anta Sports. Janković also has an endorsement with Prince Sports and now uses the Prince O3 Speedport Pro White Racquet after formerly using the Prince O3 Red Racquet. She is the face of the Serbian fashion design company Mona with her own line of clothing. Janković recently signed up to endorse Aqua Viva Hydroactive Water. Her picture will appear on the bottles for a limited time and she will now feature in a TV advertisement. She is also Face of new Orbit endorsement
