Paris: Serena Williams admitted that the health dangers posed by the Zika virus in Rio ahead of the Olympics are a serious concern while Novak Djokovic pleaded for the impact on Brazilians not to be under-estimated.
“It’s something that’s been on my mind. I’m really just gonna have to go super protected,” said 34-year-old Williams, the defending Olympic champion, after making the last-16 of the French Open with a 6-4, 7-6 (12/10) win over home hope Kristina Mladenovic on Saturday.
An open letter addressed to the World Health Organisation signed by 150 international doctors, scientists and researchers on Friday called for the August Games to be moved or delayed to help prevent the spread of Zika.
Holding the Games in Rio, the second worst affected city in Brazil, would be “irresponsible” and “unethical” and could risk spreading the virus to “poor, as-yet unaffected places” like Africa and South Asia.
However, the WHO said moving the Olympics would not have a major impact on the spread of Zika. The tennis event in Rio has already been hit by withdrawals although not necessarily health-related.
So far, 17th-ranked John Isner of the United States, Austrian 15th seed Dominic Thiem, Bernard Tomic, the world number 22 from Australia and Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez, 23 in the rankings, have all announced they are giving the Olympics a miss.
