Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard remains undecided about playing in the Rio Olympics barely two weeks before the start, Zika virus fears stealing the joy from what would be her first Games. “I don’t know what I’ll do at this point,” she said on Tuesday after a first-round loss at the WTA and ATP Washington Open. “I’ll make the decision next week I guess.”
The mosquito-transmitted Zika virus causes severe illness and has been linked to birth defects, a factor causing the 22-year-old the greatest concern. “I don’t know if the health of my future babies is worth it,” Bouchard said. “That’s what I’m trying to decide in my head.”
The world’s four top men’s golfers, paced by Australian Jason Day, have withdrawn from Rio and several top tennis players have followed, including Romania’s fifth-ranked Simona Halep, Czech Tomas Berdych and Bouchard’s compatriot Milos Raonic, fresh off his own Wimbledon runner-up effort.
“I see more and more people drop out. Some golfers pulled out, the high profile ones. This gets you thinking,” Bouchard said. “I’m trying to learn as much as I can about it. I don’t know if anyone knows enough about it.”
Bouchard, ranked 41st, was as high as fifth in the world in 2014, when she was the Wimbledon runner-up.