"I watch Partizan, they spend 15 million, and there isn't a single Serbian on the court, it eats me up inside"

Petar Popović Spin on the Reketiranje podcast highlighted the state of Serbian sports, drawing a striking comparison between tennis and basketball.

Popović, who has an impressive coaching portfolio working with players such as Filip Krajinović, Ivo Karlović, Andrea Petković, and others at their peaks, currently coaches German player Yannick Hanfmann, remembered in Serbia for two recent matches against Novak Djoković. During the Athens tournament where they were together, Popović had the chance to witness a basketball spectacle firsthand.

Answering a question about Serbian tennis and the lack of a National Tennis Center, Popović drew a sharp parallel:

“I’ve stepped away from all of this because my daughter switched to play for France — I saw it wasn’t working here — but I see nothing has changed. We still don’t have a center. On the other hand, in Athens, I watch Partizan against Olympiakos in basketball — not a single local player on the court, and they’re spending 10, 15 million euros… It eats me up! What does this bring to Serbian sport? I don’t understand it. Before, it was great to have at least two or three of our players in the starting five — we are strong in basketball — and then when I see tennis, probably our most successful sport in the last 15 years, we don’t even have a proper hall…” Popović said on the Reketiranje podcast.

The experienced coach stressed that the investment needed to meet even minimal requirements in tennis is far from excessive, especially compared to how much money basketball clubs receive.

“For 150, 200 thousand euros, you could at least build some courts in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Čačak… And we don’t have that, the very basics. It’s terrible,” added the popular Spin.

For context, 200,000 euros roughly equals the monthly salary of some players at Red Star and Partizan basketball clubs.