Novak Djokovic tested positive for the coronavirus after playing in a tennis exhibition series tournament that he helped organize in Serbia and Croatia.
Novak Djokovic announced he tested positive for the coronavirus after playing in the Adria Tour Exhibition in the Balkan region over the weekend.
Borna Coric of Croatia, Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria and Viktor Troicki also tested positive after the tournament.
The final between Djokovic and Andrey Rublev was called off on Sunday after Dimitrov announced he tested positive. Djokovic was criticized by others in the tennis community for moving forward with the tournament without any social distancing measures. He has also expressed his skepticism toward a vaccine if it became available and mandated to travel on tour.
Djokovic and his family were tested upon his arrival in Belgrade. He issued the following statement on Tuesday.
“The moment we arrived in Belgrade we went to be tested. My result is positive, just as Jelena's, while the results of our children are negative. Everything we did in the past month, we did with a pure heart and sincere intentions. Our tournament meant to unite and share a message of solidarity and compassion throughout the region. The Tour has been designed to help both established and up and coming tennis players from South-Eastern Europe to gain access to some competitive tennis while the various tours are on hold due to the COVID-19 situation. It was all born with a philanthropic idea, to direct all raised funds towards people in need and it warmed my heart to see how everybody strongly responded to this. We organized the tournament at the moment when the virus has weakened, believing that the conditions for hosting the Tour had been met. 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. 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."
Adria Tour organizers said the third stage of the event, scheduled to held next week in Bosnia, has been canceled.