Prague, July 16 (CTK) – Czech tennis players Tomas Berdych, 30, 8th in ATP ranking, will not attend the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for fear of the Zika virus, he announced in a press release Saturday.
After Berdych, another Czech tennis player, Karolina Pliskova (16), 24, decided Saturday not to go to the Rio Olympics for the same reason.
They are the first Czech athletes to excuse themselves from the Olympics.
Their decision has already been officially announced to the Czech Olympic Committee and the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
None of the Czech tennis players can replace Berdych and Pliskova in Rio, so the Czech Olympic team has now 105 members.
“I was a difficult decision for me after a long and complicated discussion with my close relatives,” Berdych, a double Davis Cup winner, said.
He was to compete at the fourth Olympic Games in his career.
In Rio, Berdych was to play a single game and a double with Radek Stepanek. A mixed double with Karolina Pliskova was also being considered.
Pliskova was to play a double with Lucie Safarova who might now play with Barbora Strycova instead.
