Kim Clijsters says she won’t play tournaments in Japan, China due to radiation fears
Mar 22, 2011, 1:18 PM EST
This is probably the least of the worries, but the sports defections due to the Japanese earthquake and tsunami have officially begun.
World No. 2 Kim Clijsters tell the press in Miami that her fear of getting radiation poisoning as a result of leaks in a couple of Japan’s nuclear reactors will keep her from playing any tournaments in Asia this fall. “I won’t go [to Japan], Clijsters said. “And I won’t go to Beijing either.”
Those would be the $2 million Toray Pan Pacific tournament in Tokyo on Sept. 25, and the $4.5 million China Open on Oct. 1. A large number of sporting events throughout Japan have been canceled in recent days, including games in the Japanese Baseball League. But officials have already declared that the regular baseball season will go on as scheduled. There have been no decisions about fall sporting events.
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Clijsters won’t play in Asia due to radiation fears [Tennis.com]
