Croatian officials have said that ‘strict’ safety rules were followed throughout this weekend’s Adria Tour after one of their players tested positive for COVID-19.
Grigor Dimitrov, who played Borna Coric in the tournament yesterday, has been diagnosed with the Coronavirus after undergoing tests back in his home in Monaco. The former Grand Slam semi-finalist originally cited fatigue as the reason for his withdrawal from the event and was told by doctors to rest. The Bulgarian has been in close contact with various players and their team members through the weekend. He also took part in a basketball match along with the likes of world No.1 Novak Djokovic, who is the founder of the exhibition series.
After Dimitrov’s statement, the final match between Djokovic and Andrey Rublev has been cancelled. It is understood that all players taking part have returned back to their hotels and are undergoing testing.
“At all times we have strictly followed the epidemiological measures in place with the countries where the Adria Tour was organised.” A statement reads.
“None of the people involved in the organisation and who have been in contact with Grigor have any symptoms.
“However, we are in close contact with health authorities in order to insure that all people who were in contact with Grigor will be tested tonight. Since we do not want to risk, we decided to cancel the final match.”
According to local media, there have been a total of 2,317 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Croatia with 18 of those being within the last 24 hours. A relatively small number compared to other European nations. However the Adria Tour has come under criticism for their approach to the pandemic for a lack of social distancing in both Belgrade and Zadar.
During a press event on Friday. Players were sitting next to each other with no social distancing in place. Furthermore, Dimitrov was sharing a microphone with Alexander Zverev throughout. There was more than one microphone used at the event but not enough to be given to each player.
Meanwhile, local health officials in the region are not taking any chances regarding Dimitrov’s positive test and will set up an additional helpline on Monday for those who have been in close contact with him. Whilst in the city, he also played in a football match with the locals.
The incident has also placed pressure on the ATP and WTA Tour’s, who are set to restart on August with COVID-19 measures set to be in place. American player Noah Rubin ‘wrote Hoping Grigor will get through this without a hiccup but just questions the “risks” I brought up last week and qualms I had about the whole tour itself.’ Meanwhile Sports Illustrated journalist Jon Werthiem has quoted one unnamed former player as saying to him – ‘His (Djokovic’s) exhibition is so wrong on so many levels. And flaunting their no precaution behaviour on Twitter makes everything moving forward for the sport tougher.”
It is still unclear as to what will happen to the rest of the Adria Tour and if it will go ahead as currently planned. The next leg is set to be held between July 3-4 in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
