Coronavirus: Novak and Jelena Djokovic donate €1m for medical equipment
With the tennis season suspended, the world number one and his wife have put forward €1million to pay for ventilators and other medical equipment.
Novak Djokovic and wife Jelena are donating €1million for medical equipment amid the coronavirus pandemic, the tennis star has revealed.
The ATP Tour season has been suspended until June as the sport attempts to slow the spread of the virus.
With the clay-court season wiped out, the French Open has been moved to September, while an emergency meeting has been organised for next week to discuss Wimbledon's status.
In the meantime, Australian Open and All England Club champion Djokovic has put together a package to help the fight, with over 550,000 confirmed global cases and more than 25,000 deaths to date.
Djokovic thanks health workers in Covid-19 battle
"I wish to express my gratitude to all the medical staff across the world and in my native Serbia for helping everyone infected by coronavirus," the 17-time grand slam champion told a video conference.
"Unfortunately, more and more people are getting infected every day. My wife Jelena and I are putting together a plan how to best donate our resources to people in need. Our donation is €1m for the purchase of ventilators and other medical equipment."
Djokovic last week posted on Twitter urging fans to "help our Mother Earth heal quickly".
Responding to the postponement of Tokyo 2020, he added: "I’m sad the @olympics are postponed, but I am sure it‘s the right decision for the collective health of everyone involved. Let’s look forward to Tokyo #Olympics 2021."
The Serbian is unbeaten in 2020, winning the ATP Cup, followed by the Melbourne major and then the Dubai Tennis Championships.
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