Serbian tennis player Dejana Radanovic slams India: ‘worms in food, yellow pillows’

Dejana Radanovic has started a racism row with her posts about India (Image credit: @dejanaradanovic/Instagram)

Serbian tennis player Dejana Radanovic has found herself in the centre of a racism row after a series of critical posts against India. In a slew of Instagram Stories shared earlier this week, she slammed Indian food, hygiene and traffic sense after a three-week stay in the country. Radanovic, the world No. 245 in women’s tennis, had been in India for the ITF tournaments, according to Fox News.

"I didn’t like India – the country," she wrote in one Instagram Story. "I didn’t like the food, traffic, hygiene (worms in the food, yellow pillows and dirty bed linen in the hotel, not knowing how to use roundabout etc.)”

In another, she cautioned tourists against drinking tap water or eating fruits in India. Radanovic, 27, said she had a tough time surviving three weeks without fruits but had to do so as she could not get unpeeled fruits at her hotel. She also said she wasn’t comfortable enough to buy whole fruits from the streets.

In the same Instagram Story, the Serbian tennis star claimed that she got food poisoning after eating fruits in India a few years ago, accompanied by high fever for four days, and has since steered clear.

Suddenly sees faults in india after losing #dejanaradanovic #tennis pic.twitter.com/MZAPA3kafU

— Abhishek (@nseeb90g) February 9, 2024

One of her most controversial posts came after she reached Germany and posted: “Hello civilization.”

Despite this, Radanovic claims she was not being racist in her posts. In fresh Instagram stories, she addressed the controversy generated by her posts – and added some more things she disliked about India.

This time, besides Indian food, she called out the country’s traffic and lack of hygiene. More specifically, she wrote: “I didn’t like the food, traffic, hygiene (worms in the food, yellow pillows and dirty bed linen in the hotel, not knowing how to use roundabout etc.)”

Still, Radanovic defended herself against allegations of racism. “If you come to my country, Serbia, and don’t like all those same things, that means you are a racist??” she asked. “What the hell that has to do with racism?” she added.

The Serbian athlete claimed that 95% of foreigners who visit India cannot adapt to “that kind of life.” On the other hand, she said she liked the people of the country.

Radanovic faced huge backlash on social media for her remarks. Several social media users urged the tennis player to name and shame the hotel that would not provide her with unpeeled fruits and forced her to live with yellow pillows and dirty linen. Others criticised her for the racist overtones in her Stories, especially the part where she implied that India is uncivilized.