- Top-ranked tennis player Novak Djokovic and his wife have COVID-19 after he played in a series of exhibition matches.
- The matches were organized in Serbia and Croatia with zero social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic.
World Number 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic has tested positive for coronavirus after his Adria Tour tennis project held two events while ignoring social distancing, reports the Guardian.
Lack of social distancing
Earlier, Viktor Troicki became the latest player to test positive for coronavirus after playing in Djokovic’s Adria Tour. Grigor Dimitrov and Borna Coric had also tested positive, raising doubts over tennis governing bodies’ intentions of restarting the tour.
The tournament was to be played across countries that constituted former Yugoslavia. The first day of the tournament saw packed stadiums in Belgrade. The ATP wished players and staff who tested positive at the event a speedy recovery and urged “strict adherence to responsible social distancing” to limit the spread of the virus.
The governing body added that it will implement a variety of precautions and protocols that would be adjusted as and when dictated by the latest medical information to ensure safety at events when the tour resumes on 14 August.
Britain’s Dan Evans lashed out at Djokovic, saying the Serb should “feel some responsibility” after Dimitrov and Coric tested positive. “I just think it”s a poor example to set,” Evans was quoted as saying by BBC Sport.
“Put it this way, I don’t think you should be having a players’ party and then dancing all over each other. He should feel some responsibility in his event and how it’s transpired,” he added.
World number 40 Nick Kyrgios had also slammed the decision to go ahead with the tour and tweeted: “Boneheaded decision to go ahead with the ”exhibition” speedy recovery fellas, but that’s what happens when you disregard all protocols. This IS NOT A JOKE.”
“Unfortunately, this virus is still present, and it is a new reality that we are still learning to cope and live with. I am hoping things will ease with time so we can all resume lives the way they were,” Djokovic said in a statement. “I am extremely sorry for each individual case of infection. I hope that it will not complicate anyone’s health situation and that everyone will be fine.”
Djokovic amid COVID-19 outbreak
Djokovic has been in the news frequently in connection to the COVID-19 outbreak, which led to the suspension of the ATP and WTA professional tennis tours in March. Plans were announced last week for the sport’s sanctioned events to return in August.
- In April, he was criticized for saying he would not want to take a vaccine for the virus in order to be able to compete, even if it were mandatory for travel.
- In May, when he was staying in Spain, Djokovic broke local lockdown rules by practicing at a tennis club about a week before it was allowed.
More recently, Djokovic complained about the U.S. Tennis Association’s plans to try to protect people from the virus during the US Open with such measures as limiting the size of players’ entourages. He went so far as to say he didn’t know whether he would go to the tournament in New York.
Djokovic found himself defending the lax arrangements of his Adria Tour exhibitions, which were meant to raise money to help those affected by the pandemic but where the stands were packed and players casually interacted with fans and each other off the court. Djokovic and other players were seen hugging each other and partying in nightclubs and restaurants.
After Dimitrov said he tested positive over the weekend, the final of the competition in Croatia — in which Djokovic was supposed to play — was canceled. Next week’s tour stop in Bosnia has been called off, too.
Croatia has 2,336 registered cases of the virus, with 107 deaths.
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Source: The Guardian
