SYDNEY — Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has taken aim at Novak Djokovic’s “stupidity” after the world number one contracted coronavirus at an exhibition tennis tournament in the Balkans.
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic reacts as he takes part in tennis match during a charity exhibition hosted by him, in Belgrade on June 12, 2020. Djokovic tested positive for coronavirus on June 23, 2020 along with Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki, after taking part in an exhibition tennis tournament in the Balkans, raising questions over the sport’s planned return in August. Photo by Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP
The final leg of the Adria Tour in Bosnia has been cancelled and Djokovic on Tuesday apologized for hosting the bungled event, admitting he and organizers “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.
“Don’t @ me for anything I’ve done that has been ‘irresponsible’ or classified as ‘stupidity’ – this takes the cake,” he wrote.
The outspoken world number 40 has posted several Tweets criticizing the event, and earlier called it a “boneheaded decision to go ahead with the ‘exhibition'”.
“(T)hat’s what happens when you disregard all protocols. This IS NOT A JOKE.”
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 which Djokovic described as “extreme” and “impossible”.
The ATP, while wishing those infected a swift recovery, said Tuesday that it and other stakeholders had “made exhaustive plans to mitigate risks through a variety of precautions and protocols to be implemented at ATP events”.