Zika concerns: ITF reassures players post Rio pull-outs

Recently, many tennis players backed out of the event citing health fears over the mosquito-borne virus

With the increasing fear of Zika virus forcing many of the athletes to pull out of next month's Rio Olympics, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has reassured the players of providing adequate protection in the upcoming games.

Recently, the Olympics tennis tournament dealt a major blow as Tomas Berdych, Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic and world number five Simona Halep all decided to pull out of the event citing health fears over the mosquito-borne virus.

ITF president David Haggerty said he completely understands the concerns over the Zika virus, but pointed out that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has assured to provide all the necessary precautions to the athletes, officials as well as fans.

Haggerty also agreed to the opinion of the World Health Organisation (WHO) that there is no point in postponing or cancelling the Summer Games at the last moment, Sport24 reported.

The prestigious tournament has already been hit by the mass withdrawal of the world's top golfers, including world number three Jordan Spieth , Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Marc Leishman and Vijay Singh.