Halep, the 2014 French Open runner-up, said she too was concerned over the Zika virus and did not want to damage her hopes of having a family when she retires from playing.
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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.
“I fell like the safest place in the world is going to be the village and the competition venues, so I think our athletes wil be among the safest people in Rio because of all the security around them”, said United States Olympic Committee chief executive officer Scott Blackmun.
Top golfers including Rory McIlroy have also withdrawn from Rio Games.
On Twitter, he said “to limit health risks towards my dearest is the utmost priority”.
Davis CupQuarter-finals: Great Britain lead Serbia 2-1; Argentina lead Italy 2-1; France lead Czech Republic 2-1; USA lead Croatia 2-0.
“I share the concerns about the possible effects of catching the Zika virus”, she said.
Their decision will not please Radek Stepanek, who was due to form a doubles pair with time-tested Davis Cup teammate Berdych in Rio, and Lucie Safarova, snubbed by Pliskova, who may however team up with Barbora Strycova for doubles.
Recently, the Olympics tennis tournament dealt a major blow as Tomas Berdych, Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic and world number five Simona Halep all made a decision to pull out of the event citing health fears over the mosquito-borne virus. He is ranked number 8 in the world, according to BBC.
ZIKA WITHDRAWALS: Another top-10 tennis player, Tomas Berdych, withdrew Saturday from the Olympics over concerns about the Zika virus.
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Raonic and women’s world number five Halep withdrew on Friday. “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”.
