This archive report was first published on 22 May 2020.
May 22, 2020 - In a move to bring together top tennis players during the COVID-19 pandemic, world number one Novak Djokovic has announced plans to organize the Adria Tour, a tennis tournament set to take place in Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, and Bosnia from June 13 to July 5.
The tournament, which will be held in Belgrade on June 13-14, will feature Djokovic, world number three Dominic Thiem, and Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, ranked 19. The ATP and WTA Tours have been suspended since March and will not resume until at least the end of July, while Roland Garros was postponed to September and Wimbledon was cancelled for the first time since the Second World War.
According to a statement from Djokovic's spokesman, the money gathered from the Adria Tour will be used for various regional humanitarian projects. It remains unclear whether the tournament will be open to spectators or will be only broadcast on television.
The Balkan region has managed to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic relatively successfully, with fewer than 20,000 people infected and around 650 deaths in a region of some 22 million people.
