"It is because of the Zika virus spread in the country of 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. Berdych follows a host of other tennis stars who are skipping Rio over the Zika scare. PRAGUE - World number eight Tomas Berdych on Saturday 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. "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."

Source: Bangkok Post July 16, 2016 18:00 UTC