When Serbia ruled tennis: Ivanovic & Jankovic at No.1 and No.2 in 2008

By this time in 2008, Serbia had just wrapped up its greatest WTA summer: between June 9 and August 17, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic were ranked No.1 and No.2 in the world.

For nine weeks, a small nation of Serbia, with the population of 6.5 million, was on top of the WTA world. Ana Ivanovic had just lifted her first Grand Slam trophy at Roland Garros, a triumph that propelled her to world No.1. Jelena Jankovic’s remarkable consistency then pushed her to the summit on August 11, and she ultimately closed the season as the year-end No.1. Meanwhile, on the ATP side, a young Novak Djokovic was rapidly climbing the ranks, marking the beginning of a golden era for Serbian tennis.

Watch Ivanovic’s priceless locker-room reaction as she learns she’s about to become world No.1.

According to Tennis Serbia, who inspired this post, Serbia remains one of only three nations ever to hold both the No.1 and No.2 spots in the WTA rankings at the same time—the others being Belgium (Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters) and the United States (Serena Williams and Venus Williams).

The Serbian reign ended on August 25, 2008, when the Top 10 reflected the fierce international rivalry of the era: the Williams sisters for the U.S., a wave of six Russian stars, and the two Serbs at the top.

Ana Ivanovic 🇷🇸Jelena Jankovic 🇷🇸Serena Williams 🇺🇸Svetlana Kuznetsova 🇷🇺Maria Sharapova 🇷🇺Elena Dementieva 🇷🇺Dinara Safina 🇷🇺Venus Williams 🇺🇸Anna Chakvetadze 🇷🇺Vera Zvonareva 🇷🇺