Djokovic adds new physio to team ahead of Australian swing

The 21-time Grand Slam champion has tweaked his team ahead of the start of the 2023 season

Djokovic and Badio at Wimbledon (AI/Reuters/Panoramic)

December 28, 2022

Ahead of the new season, there has been a change in the team of the 21-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic. Ulises Badio, the physiotherapist who has been with Djokovic since May 2017, will be replaced by Claudio Zimaglia.

Badio has proven to be an extremely significant member of Djokovic’s team in the past years, particularly on two occasions: first, when Djokovic had elbow trouble in 2017; and second, during Australian Open 2021, when he got injured in the third-round match against Taylor Fritz, only to go on to win the title after spending numerous hours with Badio in therapy and without practice on his off days.

This time, though, the two sides were unable to reach an agreement. However, Djokovic has already found a successor: Claudio Zimaglia, who most recently worked with Brandon Nakashima, has been seen with Djokovic at practice in Adelaide.

Zimaglia is a teacher at the osteopathy academy in Torino, with vast experience in elite tennis, having previously worked with Milos Raonic and Jannik Sinner – with the Piatti Tennis Center – as well. He is also an author of the book “Sports Massage: And Complementary Techniques”.

In addition, Miljan Amanovic, who worked with Djokovic from 2007 to 2017, and then from 2018 to 2022 (he stopped travelling with him in April but stayed at the Novak Djokovic Tennis Center), is also back in the Serb’s team and will travel with Djokovic for “certain weeks of the year”

Djokovic is scheduled to kick off his season at the 2023 Adelaide International 1 before heading
to Melbourne, where the Australian Open starts on January 16.