World number one tennis player, Serbian Novak Djokovic, said on Tuesday he has tested positive for the novel coronavirus after three of his colleagues from the Adria Tour in Serbian capital of Belgrade and the Croatian coastal city of Zadar have also contracted the virus.

It is also reported that his wife Jelena, who was in Zadar for the tournament, was also infected. Their two children have tested negative.

Djokovic’s announcement came after Croatian player Borna Coric, as well as Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov have also said they had contracted the virus. Djokovic’s and Dimitrov’s coaches have also tested positive. 

Djokovic, his family and team were tested in Belgrade after returning from Zadar. He said he has not experienced any symptoms. 

The world number one was slammed by many tennis players, as well as the media, for organising the Adria Tour as the coronavirus pandemic was still ongoing. 

“All we did in the last month was honest and with pure heart,” Djokovic said. “Our tournament was humanitarian, with the idea to help regional tennis player to play, earn some money, and go through this difficult period a bit easier.” 

“At the same time, we wanted to send messages of solidarity and fair-play respect. The aim was to help humanitarian organisations and those who needed help the most and I’m glad that so many people joined the initiative,” Djokovic said.

He added he believed the conditions were met for the tour, as the countries in the region had recorded few cases in the last weeks. 

Apart from Croatia and Serbia, the tour was also supposed to be held in Montenegro, but the country had pulled out some days ago for fear of a surge in infections. 

“I’m truly sorry about every single case of the infection. I follow the doctors’ statements and I hope there won’t be more people infected. I hope that no one’s health state will complicate and that everyone will be OK,” Djokovic said.

He added he would go into self-isolation for 14 days and would be tested again in five days.

On Monday, another Serbian tennis player, Viktor Troicki, said he was also positive on the new virus. Troicki took part in the Adria Tour regional humanitarian tournament first leg in Belgrade but did not go to Zadar last weekend.