Novak Djokovic’s disastrous Adria Tour project went from bad to worse when the world No 1 himself announced he had tested positive for COVID-19.
The 33-year-old Serbian, who has stated that he is an anti-vaxxer, said he did not have symptoms of the virus but that he had become the sixth direct participant in his exhibition series to catch the virus.
It comes after two events, in Belgrade and Zadar, where there was a near total lack of social distancing measures, with players repeatedly getting up close in everything from fun football kickabouts to escapades in nightclubs.
Other players who have tested positive are Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki.
There have also been positive tests for Djokovic’s fitness trainer Marco Panichi and Dimitrov’s coach Christian Groh.
The highest profile player of them all tested positive after he returned to Belgrade, having declined to be tested with everyone else at the second event in Croatia.
Tell-tale symptoms of the coronavirus, known as SARS-CoV-2, include a cough, fever and losing the senses of smell and taste.
Some patients suffer diarrhoea and other more unusual symptoms.
More than 8.5 million people have been struck down with Covid-19 since the virus was first spotted in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December.
More than 450,000 infected patients have died.
Scientists have yet to find a cure for the disease and the global race against time to make a vaccine that will save millions of lives continues, with human trials of several jabs now well underway.
Djokovic’s wife Jelena has also tested positive, although their children have not.
Jelena also holds what many would consider unconventional views.
She has had a “false information” label slapped on one of her Instagram posts after she shared a video promoting the belief that coronavirus could be spread via 5G technology.
