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Tomas Berdych joins growing list of tennis players skipping Rio

Olympics - Previews - Day - 1

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 26: Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic returns the ball during the practice session ahead of the 2012 London Olympic Games at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon on July 26, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

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Tomas Berdych became the third top-10 tennis player to announce in the last two days that they will not play in the Olympics due to Zika virus concerns.

“It is because of the zika virus spread in the country of the Olympics,” Berdych’s social media said Saturday. “As I have founded a family recently to limit health risks towards my nearest is the utmost priority.”

Berdych, a Czech ranked No. 8, follows No. 7 Milos Raonic and women’s No. 5 Simona Halep in pulling out of Rio due at least in part to Zika since Friday.

Berdych competed in the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics, his best result reaching the quarterfinals in Athens (where he beat Roger Federer in the second round).

Later Saturday, fellow Czech Karolina Pliskova, ranked No. 16 in the world, also reportedly announced she would not play in Rio.

MORE: World’s 546th-ranked man on U.S. tennis team for Rio

Top 30 men’s singles players missing Rio Olympics
No. 7 -- Milos Raonic (CAN)
No. 8 -- Tomas Berdych (CZE)
No. 9 -- Dominic Thiem (AUT)
No. 16 -- John Isner (USA)
No. 18 -- Nick Kyrgios (AUS)
No. 19 -- Bernard Tomic (AUS)
No. 20 -- Feliciano Lopez (ESP)
No. 21 -- Lucas Pouille (FRA)
No. 23 -- Benoit Paire (FRA)
No. 29 -- Sam Querrey (USA)