Canada’s world number seven Milos Raonic has pulled out of next month’s Olympic Games in Rio because of concerns about the Zika virus.
Advertisement
Several top golfers have opted to skip the Olympics because of concerns about the mosquito-borne disease which is linked to birth defects in newborn babies.
“It is with a heavy heart that I am announcing my withdrawal from participation in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games”, said Raonic, the Canadian World No. 6, who finished as the runner-up at the recently-concluded Wimbledon.
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.
Czech Republic’s Tomas Berdych is the latest athlete to announce his withdrawal from the Olympic Games due to concerns over the Zika virus. “It is purely my personal decision but I still feel a need to give at least one of the serious reasons leading to this step to my supporters and fans”.
The eighth-ranked Berdych apologized to those disappointed by his decision.
Berdych, the Wimbledon semifinalist, said “it was a hard decision for me to take after a long and painstaking discussion” with family. “I wish the Czech team a big success and I hope that I will soon be honored to defend the Czech national colors again”.
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Dominic Thiem, Australian duo of Bernard Tomic and Nick Kyrgios as well as Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez have withdrawn from the global spectacle citing various reasons.
Advertisement
Eccentric Latvian player Ernests Gulbis described the Rio event as “tennis tourism” as the Olympics do not offer either prize money or ranking points.
