Matej and
Ivan Sabanov are twin brothers born in
Subotica, a city that was part of the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia at the time, near the
Croatian and
Hungarian borders. They began playing tennis at the age of five or six and grew up competing alongside Serbian players such as
Filip Krajinović and
Dušan Lajović. Following the dissolution of Yugoslavia, Subotica became part of
Serbia and Montenegro in 2003 and later
Serbia in 2006. At the age of 15, the twins moved to
Osijek, Croatia, where their mother worked as a teacher. The move provided them with access to indoor courts, which were unavailable in Subotica. Around that time, they chose to represent Croatia in their professional careers. However, after their mother’s retirement, the family returned to
Palić, near their hometown of Subotica. During this period, they received strong support from Serbian tennis star
Novak Djokovic, who closely followed their progress and allowed them to train at his
Belgrade academy free of charge. They remained closely connected to Serbian players they had grown up with, and in November 2021, they announced their decision to switch national representation to Serbia. Reports suggested that the move was partly influenced by their ambition to compete in doubles for Serbia in the
Davis Cup and
ATP Cup, as Croatia already had an established doubles team featuring players like
Mate Pavić,
Nikola Mektić, and
Ivan Dodig. ==Professional career ==