Karolina Pliskova withdrew from Rio following the likes of Simona Halep, Milos Raonic, and Tomas Berdych. She shared the same sentiment as compatriot Berdych with regards to the Zika virus. The withdrawal of players citing the virus as a reason has caused certain players to voice out their criticisms.
Zika fears
The 24-year-old, in a statement to a Czech news agency, announced her decision to withdraw from the Olympic games. “I share the concerns about the possible effects of catching the Zika virus,” said Pliskova. The Czech was also due to play in the doubles with Lucie Safarova, who will now have to pair up with either Petra Kvitova or Barbora Strycova. It would have otherwise been Pliskova’s first representation for her country at the Olympic Games.
The Zika virus outbreak started in Brazil before the spread began. The primary concern has been the virus' ability to cause birth defects in babies as it can be passed on via pregnant women. The virus, which is spread by the Aedes mosquito, can affect men as well who can then transmit it to their partners. These factors have prompted doubts in several players. While some have expressed their excitement to compete in Rio, others are still considering their decision to go ahead.
Criticism from fellow players
Several players including Bruno Soares, Nicholas Mahut, and Horia Tecau have voiced out their opinions following the succession of withdrawals. Soares took to Twitter and tweeted, “How many people died from Zika? How many people died from terrorism? Don’t see athletes changing schedule because of that. #theZikaEffect.” The doubles player also retweeted a couple of other tweets echoing similar sentiments.
He further commented, “At least Thiem was honest to say he would not have played Olympics to play Los Cabos, but the others created Zika as an excuse not to play. Now stop, there has already been a lot of problems in Brazil.”