Per BBC Sport, he joins fellow tennis players Milos Raonic and Simona Halep in withdrawing from the Games.
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Halep, a quarter-finalist at Wimbledon last week, was French Open runner-up in 2010.
Czech Republic’s Berdych, who fell to Andy Murray in the recent Wimbledon semi-finals, says his family is his “utmost priority” and will not compete in Rio. “The reason for my decision is the concern regarding the danger posed by the Zika virus”, 24-year-old Halep wrote on her Facebook page.
Many have claimed, however, that athletes are using Zika as an excuse to pull out of Rio, with an Olympic gold not as prestigious as other major prizes in sports such as golf and tennis.
The World Health Organization said in June that there was a “very low risk” that the Zika virus would spread to other parts of the world from Brazil.
Tennis players such as John Isner of the United States, Austria’s Dominic Thiem, Australian duo of Bernard Tomic and Nick Kyrgios as well as Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez have withdrawn from the global spectacle citing various reasons.
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.
The world’s biggest sporting event will be held in Rio de Janeiro from August 5 to 21, with an estimated 17,000 athletes and a half-million spectators due to visit Rio for the games.
His decision came on the day Britain officially added Kyle Edmund, Colin Fleming and Dom Inglot have officially been added to Britain’s Olympic tennis team.
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The 14-time grand-slam champion, victor of Olympic gold in Beijing eight years ago, did not meet the selection criteria as he had not played enough Davis Cup matches for his country.
