Belgrade (AFP)
Novak Djokovic will organize a tennis tournament in mid-June in several Balkan countries, the first competition of its kind since the suspension of the tennis season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The "Adria Tour" will take place from June 13 to July 5 in Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia, announced Djokovic's public relations team in a statement on Friday.
The world N.3 Dominic Thiem and the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (N.19) will participate in the tournament alongside the Serb.
The money raised thanks to the "Adria Tour", which will start on June 13 in Belgrade, will be donated to various charitable organizations.
It has not yet been decided whether the tournament will be open to the public or broadcast only on television, the organizers said.
The Balkan countries were relatively unscathed by the Covid-19 pandemic and recorded less than 20,000 cases for 650 deaths in the region which has some 22 million inhabitants.
Tennis officials announced last week that the ATP and WTA circuits, which have been completely shutdown since mid-March, will remain frozen until the end of July.
© 2020 AFP