HEAD Tennis imagines when champions change fields

What if one of the greatest tennis players of all time didn’t retire, but changed sports? 

That question drives a new series of short films directed by Berlin-based filmmaker André Aimaq and produced by CZAR Film, placing Novak Djokovic in the unlikely world of the New York Mets. At 38, Djokovic is a Serbian icon with a men’s-record 24 Grand Slam titles and more weeks at world Number one than any player in history.

The films were shot under exceptional circumstances. Citi Field was in full use during a Mets homestand, with games every night, leaving only narrow windows during the day for filming. At the same time, just across the street, Djokovic was competing in the US Open. Between matches he could spend no more than two hours in total on set, which meant every camera angle and every scene had to be prepared down to the second. Adding to the scale, nearly 20 Mets players and their coaching staff appeared in the films, a rare collaboration between professional athletes and a commercial production that required precise choreography and coordination inside a live stadium environment. 

The collision of tennis and baseball provided the narrative spark. One is an individual sport built on silence, concentration, and solitary focus; the other a team sport defined by noise, ritual, and collective rhythm. They may both be ball games, but they could hardly be more different. The humour of the stories emerges from this tension, especially in Djokovic’s stubborn refusal to give up his tennis racket on the baseball field. His insistence on playing the game his way leaves Mets player baffled, amused, and drawn into a set of playful encounters.

Across four short films, this clash takes shape in different ways: 

The Rumor follows a young boy through the streets of Queens as he traces mysterious signs that all point to Novak Djokovic. The film features Mets coach Tony Mendoza alongside stars Francisco Lindor, Clay Holmes, and Brett Baty. 

Quiet Please a phrase usually reserved for tennis suddenly echoes through the Mets’ batting cage. Djokovic appears with his racket, to the surprise of Mets players Sean Manaea, Luis Torrens, and Hayden Senger. 

Traditions shows Mets regulars Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil observing practice. Their attention quickly shifts when one unfamiliar “rookie” insists on playing by his own rules. 

The Sound of the Game blends the crack of a bat with the strike of a racket in a rhythmic collage. As Djokovic’s performance stats light up the Mets scoreboard, even Mets superstar Pete Alonso is left speechless.

Instead of closing with a conventional logo, the films end with the hashtag #NovakHEADingMets, inviting audiences to imagine a “what if” scenario that feels as real as it is improbable.