As many as four players including World No.1 Novak Djokovic, who took part in the Adria Tour recently confirmed they have tested positive for the coronavirus. (Getty Images)
Four tennis players who took part in the Adria Tour have now confirmed Covid-19 positive
Tennis underwent a major setback when a few players from the Adria Tour tested positive for Covid-19.
One of the biggest names to test positive was Novak Djokovic, who was the main organiser of the Adria Tour. The tournament kicked off in the Balkans on June 13.
However, Djokovic confirmed on Tuesday that he and his wife Jelena had tested positive.
“Novak Djokovic tested positive for a virus Covid-19,” read a statement from his staff. “He is not showing any symptoms,” it added.
Djokovic’s wife Jelena also tested positive while the results of their children are negative, the statement read.
“Everything we did in the past month we did with a pure heart and sincere intentions,” the statement reads.
Djokovic is now back in Belgrade, Serbia. The Serbian said he would self-isolate for the next 14 days and that he would have another test in five days.
Djokovic was joined by three other tennis stars – Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric, and Viktor Troicki, whose results also came out positive.
Bulgarian Dimitrov, Croatian Coric, and Djokovic’s countrymate Troicki, like the Serbian, had taken part in the first and second leg of the Adria Tour tournament in Belgrade and Zadar, Croatia respectively.
The tournament conducted by the World No.1 had received criticism from tennis circles and outside as it clearly did not adhere to the strict guidelines necessary to spread the outbreak of the pandemic virus.
The tournament, which also had top names such as World No.3 Dominic Thiem and German star Alexander Zverev, witnessed players playing basketball and dancing together without following social distancing protocols.
Zverev on Monday confirmed that he and his team had tested negative for the Covid-19 virus. The ATP and WTA Tours are set to resume in August with the US Open and French Open beginning on August 31 and September 27, respectively.
However, Djokovic’s fitness coach, Marko Paniki and Dimitrov’s coach, Kristijan Groh, also tested positive.
The tours were suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. They were set to resume, however, this recent outbreak could change those plans.
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