Novak Djokovic, Wife Test Negative For Coronavirus

Serbia's Novak Djokovic, the world's top-ranked men's tennis player, and his wife have tested negative for the coronavirus, his media team said on July 2, 10 days after announcing they had contracted COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

Djokovic tested positive after playing in an exhibition tournament he organized in Serbia and Croatia amid the pandemic. No social distancing was observed at the matches in Belgrade and Zadar, Croatia.

“Novak Djokovic and his wife Jelena are negative for COVID-19. That was shown by the results of the PCR tests that both had in Belgrade,” his media team said in a statement.

Both Djokovic and his wife had no symptoms and were in self-isolation in the Serbian capital since testing positive, the statement said.

Djokovic was the fourth player infected after participating in the matches in Belgrade and Zadar. The others were Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric, and Viktor Troicki.

Djokovic's coach, Goran Ivanisevic, has also said he has the virus.

Djokovic came under fire for organizing the tournament with few health precautions and publicly partying after the Belgrade round of the event even as the tennis world remains in lockdown.

At the time, participants did not break any local laws in either Serbia or Croatia as those countries had relaxed restrictions implemented because of the pandemic.

But a current spike of coronavirus cases in Serbia following the relaxation has prompted the reintroduction of some limitations, such as compulsory wearing of masks, social distancing, and a ban on gatherings of more than five people in towns hit by a surge in cases.

Based on reporting by AP, dpa, AFP, and Reuters