Top-ranked tennis player Novak Djokovic announced yesterday that he and his wife tested positive for the coronavirus after he played in a series of exhibition matches he organized in Serbia and Croatia with zero social distancing amid the pandemic.
Yeah, well, what it really was was an exhibition of poor judgement as it now raises questions about the full-fledged return of tennis—including August’s U.S. Open –as Djokovic is now the fourth player to come down with COVID-19.
“We believed the tournament met all health protocols and the health of our region seemed in good condition to finally unite people for philanthropic reasons,” Djokovic said in a posting on social media Tuesday. “We were wrong and it was too soon.”
The rest of his Adria Tour, which was supposed to head to Bosnia next, was called off.
The U.S. Open is scheduled to begin Aug. 31, without spectators, and the French Open—postponed from May—is supposed to start Sept. 27.
Worth noting is the fact that Djokovic—like every other athlete across all sports in his age and physical condition—is not showing symptoms of COVID-19.
Still, he will remain in self-isolation for 14 days.
And then go back to his life as it was before COVID.
Here’s hoping we can all start doing that soon.