World number eight Tomas Berdych yesterday pulled out of the Olympics due to concerns over the Zika virus, just a day after fellow top 10 stars Milos Raonic and Simona Halep also withdrew over similar health concerns.
“I am very sorry to announce that I will not take part in this year’s Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro,” Berdych, the 30-year-old Wimbledon semi-finalist, said on Twitter. “It is because of the Zika virus spread in the country of the Olympics. As I have founded a family recently, to limit health risks towards my nearest is the utmost priority.”
Berdych, who married model Ester Satorova last year, had also pulled out of the Czech Republic’s Davis Cup tie with France, in which the Czechs are trailing 2-1 after yesterday’s rubbers. Berdych follows a host of other tennis stars who are skipping Rio over the Zika scare.
On Friday, Wimbledon runner-up and world number seven Raonic, as well as Romania’s world number five Simona Halep, the 2014 French Open runner-up, said they would not make the trip to Rio. Canadian star Raonic, who was defeated by Andy Murray in last Sunday’s Wimbledon final, said he had taken the decision “with a heavy heart”.
Jalep, who last month told said she was "very worried" about the long-term effects of the Zika virus, consulted with many doctors before issuing her decision shortly after Raonic.
"I regret to announce that I have decided I will not compete in the Olympic Games. The reason for my decision is the concern regarding the danger posed by the Zika virus," Halep, a runner-up at the French Open in 2014, said on her Facebook page.
"After several talks with doctors and my family, I concluded that the risks are too high for my career and for my health, especially as a woman. Family is much too important for me and I can't risk not being able to have one of my own after my career in tennis is over.
"I know the Olympics are a very important event and I truly regret these circumstances. I hope the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee and all Romanians will respect my decision. I will continue to play, to proudly represent Romania in as many tournaments as possible."
John Isner of the United States, Austria’s Dominic Thiem, Australian duo Bernard Tomic and Nick Kyrgios as well as Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez have all opted, for various reasons, not to take part in the Olympics.
Italy’s former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone has turned down the opportunity while former world number ones Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka will also be missing. Sharapova is serving a doping suspension while Azarenka announced on Friday that she is pregnant and won’t compete again in 2016. Eccentric Latvian player Ernests Gulbis described the Rio event as “tennis tourism” as the Olympics do not offer either prize money or ranking points.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) moved yesterday to reassure players and fans over the threat posed by Zika at the Olympics which start on August 5. “While we understand and respect the concerns over the Zika virus, the IOC has assured us that all precautions will be taken to limit the risk to athletes, officials and fans,” ITF president David Haggerty told AFP in a statement.
“We also accept the view of the World Health Organisation that there is no reason at this time to postpone or cancel the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.”
Fears over Zika have already seen the image of the golf event in Rio badly tarnished with the sport’s top four players — Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson — all choosing not to play.

Williams sisters lead
US squad for Rio Games
World number one Serena Williams, a double Olympic champion in 2012, her sister Venus and the Bryan brothers lead the US tennis team named on Friday for the 2016 Rio Games.
Serena Williams, who earned her 22nd Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, will defend the singles and doubles titles she captured in London. In doubles, she and Venus will be trying to win gold for the fourth time, after triumphs in 2000, 2008 and 2012.
Venus, who won Olympic singles gold in 2000, Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens will all compete in singles while Bethanie Mattek-Sands and CoCo Vandeweghe will form the second women’s doubles team for the US.
The country’s other strongest medal chance lies with Bob and Mike Bryan, the reigning men’s doubles champions who have won 16 Grand Slam titles and spent more than 435 weeks atop the doubles world rankings. As expected, US number John Isner, ranked 16th in the world and a quarter-finalist at the London Games, is not in the squad, having indicated earlier this year he would not play.
The US men’s team includes Steve Johnson, Jack Sock, Denis Kudla and Brian Baker in singles, with Sock and Johnson also to team up in doubles. The US Tennis Association said the mixed doubles participants would be decided in Rio.