Explained: Why Novak Djokovic's 'pump' victory celebration at Wimbledon is controversial

Djokovic, chasing an elusive 25th Grand Slam triumph at Wimbledon, has been making headlines not just for his clincal performance against Alexandre Muller and Dan Evans but also for his ‘pumping’ celebration. read more

Serbian tennis icon Novak Djokovic celebrates after defeating Britain's Dan Evans in the second round of Wimbledon. AP

Novak Djokovic has stood strong even as several top seeds have crashed out in the first two rounds of Wimbledon, advancing to Round 3 with victories over France’s Alexandre Muller and Britain’s Dan Evans – the latter in straight sets (6-3, 6-2, 6-0) on Thursday.

The 38-year-old had failed to win a single Grand Slam last year and also fell short at the Australian Open and the French Open earlier this year, and will be hoping to achieve the record-breaking 25th Grand Slam triumph at SW19 later on 13 July.

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Djokovic, however, isn’t just making headlines for his on-court performance at Wimbledon, with his ‘pump it up’ celebration becoming something of a talking point, some believing it to be politically motivated.

What Djokovic’s celebration at Wimbledon is all about

Djokovic’s ‘pumping’ celebration is something of a controversial topic back home in Serbia; the word ‘pump’, after all, is synonymous with a student protests against the Aleksandar Vučić-led government, which have led to clashes between the protestors and riot police over the demand of an early parliamentary election.

The Serbian tennis icon, however, denies his victory celebration in both rounds has anything to do with politics back home.

“Pumping? I’ll celebrate every victory like that!. It’s between me and my kids. We’ve got two songs we’ve been listening to lately. We talked about how that choreography could be fitting for every win at Wimbledon,” Djokovic had said after his first-round triumph over Muller.

“That’s how I’ll celebrate in the future at Wimbledon. It’s a symbolic parallel! One is a foreign song, a dance hit called ‘Pump It Up,’ and the other is ‘Throw Everything Off,’ where at one point it says ‘pump it, pump it, why’d you stop,’” he added.

A good day at the office 😎. Respect to Dan. Round 3, let’s go… 💪 pic.twitter.com/PnEmFwBYRv — Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) July 3, 2025

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Djokovic, however, has been sympathetic towards the students’ cause, having previously praised them on social media and even worn a hoodie with the message “students are real champions” besides dedicating a victory at the Australian Open in January to an injured protester.

His comments on the ‘pump’ celebration, which is likely to take place on Saturday as well should he defeat compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic in the third round, might thus be taken with a pinch of salt.

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