Czech Republic's Tomas Berdych is the latest athlete to announce his withdrawal from the Olympic Games due to concerns over the Zika virus.
The world number eight, who lost to Andy Murray at the semi-final stage of Wimbledon earlier this month, follows in the steps of Simona Halep and Milos Raonic in pulling out of the tournament.
It is a further blow for organisers of the competition, with the United States' John Isner and Nick Kyrgios of Australia also not involved due to separate reasons, but Berdych claims that he had to put the well-being of his family first when making the choice.
"It was a hard decision for me to take after a long and painstaking discussion with my dearest," he said on Twitter. "It is purely my personal decision but I still feel a need to give at least one of the serious reasons leading to this step to my supporters and fans.
"It is because of the Zika virus spread in the country of the Olympics. As I have founded a family recently, to limit health risks towards my nearest is the utmost priority.
"I apologise to all of you who are disappointed by my decision. I do believe that if you take a deeper account of my reasons you will understand that I have done it out of the responsibility for my family."
More than 20 golfers have already withdrawn from Rio 2016 because of concerns about the mosquito-borne virus.
Daniel Lewis
