STARNBERG, June 25, 2020

Following the events at the second stop of the Adria Tour in Zadar, Croatia last weekend, the president of the Croatian Tennis Federation (HRT), Nikolina Babic, spoke about the coronavirus outbreak in the coastal city.

“This was a big organization and there was a great desire to organize a tournament in Zadar and Croatia, and to present it with popular players. We did everything in good faith, but what happened, happened,” she told Index.hr via Skype call.

“We sold tickets according to the recommendation, in all our speeches, we asked the spectators to adhere to the regulations and distances. I don’t know exactly how many tickets were sold, I think about a third. The players themselves were not in contact with other actors, and I’m talking about 15 minutes, the players stopped, took photos, went on, the most threats were among themselves,” Babic said, quoted by Total Croatia News. Despite following all the recommendations of keeping a two-meter distance indoors and contact that did not last longer than 15 minutes, she went into self-isolation.

“There were disinfectants everywhere, we adhered to the measures. The virus is among us and will be among us. Life will not stop, and first of all, we must protect ourselves and everything around us. This was all outdoors and there was certainly less risk to it. In other parts of Croatia, there are many more infected without such an event,” she added.

Players tested positive

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has tested positive for the virus, along with three more players, Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki, who took part in the charity tournament. Dozens more people are being tested in Zadar, who participated or visited the event. Babic also said the measures did not require tennis players to be tested earlier.

“The measures that were in Croatia did not require it, as foreigners who come to Croatia are not obliged to be tested. If it weren’t for Dimitrov, a tennis player, a star, there wouldn’t be such tension and a story about this tournament. Of course, it happened that a famous player was infected. Zadar was ‘alive’, everyone thanked us, the caterers, bookings were full, a nice presentation was given, but unfortunately, what happened happened.”

 

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The Croatian Tennis Association, as a co-organizer of Adria Tour, which took place last weekend in Zadar, joined the project with the best intentions, which aimed to promote tennis and sports with a humanitarian note to it. ⠀ “All of us who participated in the organization gave our best. We entered the project with a pure heart and sincere intentions. No one even in the worst case scenario knew, nor could they have known this was going to happen. We did everything according to the protocol in place, according to the recommendations of epidemiologists and the National Team of the Republic of Croatia. Unfortunately, despite everything, it was impossible to predict such an outcome. We are deeply sorry for all those who are infected and in these most difficult moments we have to be together, close ranks, be as one and stop looking for culprits because there is no end to it. The corona virus is unpredictable and only together with God’s help can we fight it. Maybe learn to live with it somehow. I hope that we will come out of this as better people, and not as always – pointing a finger at each other! ”- said Neven Nakić, the president of the Organizing committee of the Adria Tour in Zadar and vice president of HTS (Croatian Tennis Association). ⠀ The Croatian Tennis Association is working on the promotion of tennis and other projects such as Tennis in schools and other, and will support projects in the future that, like previous Davis Cup matches, will aim to promote Croatia as a tourist destination. These days we hope for understanding and if there were any mistakes on the part of the organizers, they are not intentional and we apologize for them. We thank the public for their understanding because when it comes to the virus, it can appear today or tomorrow anywhere and anytime. Let’s be careful and responsible.

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Adria Tour (@adriatourofficial) am Jun 24, 2020 um 9:15 PDT

The Croatian Tennis Association, as a co-organizer of the tournament exhibition series, announced that they joined the project with the best intentions aiming to promote tennis and sports with a humanitarian note to it.

Neven Nakić, the president of the organizing committee of the Adria Tour in Zadar and vice president of Croatian Tennis Association, stated on the social media channel of the Adria Tour:
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“All of us who participated in the organization gave our best. We entered the project with a pure heart and sincere intentions. No one even in the worst case scenario knew, nor could they have known this was going to happen. We did everything according to the protocol in place, according to the recommendations of epidemiologists and the National Team of the Republic of Croatia. Unfortunately, despite everything, it was impossible to predict such an outcome. We are deeply sorry for all those who are infected and in these most difficult moments we have to be together, close ranks, be as one and stop looking for culprits because there is no end to it. The corona virus is unpredictable and only together with God’s help can we fight it. Maybe learn to live with it somehow. I hope that we will come out of this as better people, and not as always – pointing a finger at each other! ”
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