Better Safe Than Sorry?

2 Tennis Stars Withdraw From Rio Over Zika

The latest athletes to back out because of the virus.

Two tennis stars have withdrawn from the upcoming Rio Olympics over fears of catching the Zika virus. Canadian Milos Raonic, 25, and Romanian Simona Halep, 24, both among the top 10 tennis players, issued statements on Friday announcing their decisions. Halep wrote on her Facebook page that she did not want to risk damaging her reproductive health by catching the Zika virus, which has been shown to cause microcephaly and encephalitis in the babies of infected women. “Family is much too important for me and I can’t risk not being able to have one of my own after my career in tennis is over,” Halep wrote. Raonic cited a “variety of health concerns” in his statement. Both made their announcements after they were included on the International Tennis Federation’s roster for the upcoming games.