Unforced error for Novak and his reckless tennis party
IT IS no surprise to hear Major League Baseball’s return on July 19 may be affected by 40 positive tests for Covid-19 among players and staff. This is a disease that has to be taken seriously. Countries led by plastic strongmen such as Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil suffer. The United States is approaching 122,000 deaths, Brazil nearly 54,000. Trump makes money from golf and hurried the sport back into competition, with predictable results. Social distancing rules were ignored, and a spike in positive tests harmed the sport.
Novak Djokovic is not the leader of Serbia, but he might as well be. So when he puts on an ill-considered tournament, invites his mates, turns it into a party, a meet-and-greet with fans, and generally behaves as if the disease does not exist, it is no surprise that infection spreads. In the aftermath, players and commentators lined up to question his intelligence, but also to call into doubt upcoming Grand Slam events. ‘What now?’ asked Martina Navratilova. ‘US Open? Roland Garros? We have a lot of work to do.’
Mitchell Krueger, a player ranked 195 in the world, called Djokovic’s decision ‘bone-headed’ and claimed it put major tournaments at risk, affecting the livelihoods of more than 300 players. He’s right, of course. As other sports have proved, it is perfectly possible for competitions to go ahead, but with sensible precautions. Djokovic’s recklessness has damaged tennis. After dangerous flirtations with prayer power and 5G technology conspiracy theories, this was one crank call too far.