Novak Djokovic, the men’s world number one tennis player, has tested positive for COVID-19, the Serbian said in a statement on Tuesday June 23.
The final leg of the Adria Tour in Bosnia has been cancelled and Djokovic on Tuesday apologised for hosting the bungled event, admitting he and organisers “were wrong” to push ahead during the pandemic.
Djokovic, who was not showing any symptoms, joined fellow players Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki in testing positive for COVID-19 during the second leg of the event, where social distancing was minimal and players embraced over the net.
Kyrgios on Tuesday retweeted a video of players including Djokovic dancing shirtless in a nightclub, saying he sent “prayers” to the players who had contracted the virus.
When the news broke this afternoon Kyrgios initially tweeted “Oh boy”.
He then added: “Prayers up to all the players that have contracted Covid – 19.
“Don’t @ me for anything I’ve done that has been ‘irresponsible’ or classified as ‘stupidity’ – this takes the cake.”
The Australian blasted his “irresponsible” rival for the “stupidity” of putting on such an event.
Novak Djokovic flew home to Belgrade when three players on the Arida Tour tested positive for coronavirus. The 17-time Grand Slam winner, along with his wife Jelena, then tested positive themselves.
Andy Murray, who also made his return to the court on Tuesday, in an exhibition tournament in London, which has far stricter social distancing protocol in place, hit out at the Adria Tour initiative, saying it has given tennis a bad image.
“It’s not surprising how many people have tested positive after seeing some of the images of the players’ party and the kids’ day. There was no social distancing in place,” he said after his match.
Bad decision to host the tournament
Novak Djokovic said: “We organised 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. I will remain in self-isolation for the next 14 days, and repeat the test in five days.”
The outbreak at the biggest tennis event since the pandemic began has prompted serious questions about the sport’s planned official return in August.
It has already been established that the US Open in New York will be played behind closed doors and under strict health protocols.
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