Serbian tennis player Viktor Troicki on Monday became the fifth participant of the Adria Tour to test positive for Covid-19. The world No 184, who last played in Belgrade on June 17, joins Grigor Dimitrov and Borna Coric in the list of tennis players to test positive for coronavirus.

Apart from these three players, Novak Djokovic’s fitness coach Marko Paniki and Dimitrov’s coach Christian Groh have also tested positive. The event was cancelled once Dimitrov announced on Sunday that he had tested positive.

The BBC reported that Troicki told Serbia’s Telegraf that his wife, who is pregnant, tested positive on Friday, before he returned a positive test on Sunday. The 34-year-old entered Janko Tipsarevic’s Eastern European Championship tournament which started in Belgrade last Monday and pulled out after learning that he and his wife tested positive, according to Reuters.

“My wife took the test on Friday and I took it on Sunday after she tested positive. Our daughter tested negative.” Troicki is quoted as saying by Telegraf.

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The Adria Tour, a tennis exhibition hosted by world No 1 Djokovic, has been in the news for the wrong reasons since it began two weeks ago.

The event has received criticism for not following physical distancing norms, with large crowds filling the stands and players competing in friendly football and basketball matches, along with the general absence of face masks.

Djokovic’s brother, who is the tournament director of the Adria Tour, said on Monday that the 17-time Grand Slam champion has taken the news of the positive tests “hard”.

Djokovic, the president of the ATP Player’s Council, has reportedly been tested after refusing to earlier and is expected to make a statement on Tuesday.

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The cases emerging from the Adria Tour have put a question mark on the resumption of the ATP and WTA seasons.

“The ATP wishes a complete and quick recovery for the ATP players and members of their staff who tested positive for Covid-19 following involvement in the Adria Tour exhibition tournament,” the ATP said in a statement on Monday.

“The ATP continues to urge strict adherence to responsible social distancing and health and safety guidelines to contain the spread of the virus. In planning for the resumption of the ATP Tour season from August 14, ATP and other stakeholders have made exhaustive plans to mitigate risks through a variety of precautions and protocols to be implemented at ATP events. We continue to plan and adjust these precautions and protocols according to latest medical information and prioritize safety in assessing every decision.”

(With AFP inputs)