During the summer of 2015, the Zika fever epidemic began in Brazil. Since then, it spread throughout South America and most of the Pacific. Many players have brought attention to this in regards to their Olympic participation.
Among the men, Raonic, Berdych, Thiem, Isner, Kyrgios, Tomic, Lopez, Paire, and Pouille will not be attending.
On the WTA, Azarenka, Halep, and Pliskova have withdrawn.
Nearly all the players listed have cited the Zika virus as an explanation for their withdrawal. There are some exceptions to this however, including Azarenka’s pregnancy announcement. Furthermore, Paire and Pouille are not within the top four French players.
The number of men that have withdrawn as opposed to women jumps out like a sore thumb. After all, women are at greater risk of infection than men. In addition to this, several of the top men were able to play Rio de Janeiro this year without any problem whatsoever.
It really comes down to if they are really concerned about the virus or if they are just using it as an excuse to get out of going.
The Olympics is a unique event in which no prize money is awarded to the winners and very few ranking points in proportion to the prestige of the tournament.
This makes the main prize of the Olympics, pride. While other tournaments pay up, this simply tests how much a player takes pride in their nation and if they’re willing to give up their time and money to play for their country.
Both Berdych and Raonic are residents of Monte Carlo. It is a well-known tax haven for athletes who wish to dodge paying income tax in their home countries. Berdych even showed up at DC this week despite withdrawing to pick up an appearance fee. With this in mind, it is safe to assume these two are stingy about money. As a result, one can’t help but beg the question if money involved in the Olympics was an issue.
In fact, Thiem remarked about the lack of rankings points and prize money among his decision not to participate. Is he the only one who feels this way or is he the only one that decided to be direct about it?
Overall, the Zika virus appears to camoflogue the lack of desire to truly compete for their countries. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to play for money, but very few players seem willing to admit it.
