Paris 2024: Aryna Sabalenka to skip Olympics to 'take care of health', Ons Jabeur also withdraws
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Updated 17/06/2024 at 19:32 GMT
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games are coming up in July and world No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka has confirmed she will not be competing in the tennis event. Sabalenka said it is "too much for the scheduling" with the Games being played on clay between the grass season and the hard-court swing. Ons Jabeur has also withdrawn from the Olympic tournament due to her medical team's advice.
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World No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka will not compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games due to the scheduling demands of switching from grass back to clay.
The tennis event at the Games starts on July 27 and will be played on clay at Roland-Garros, the home of the French Open.
It is held two weeks after Wimbledon, which is played on grass, and three weeks before the hard-court US Open.
“I’m not going to play the Olympics,” said Sabalenka.
"Especially with all the struggles I've been struggling with the last months, I feel I have to take care of my health. It's too much for the scheduling."
Sabalenka would be permitted to play at the Games despite being Belarusian.
Some individual from Russia and Belarus have been permitted to compete in Paris as neutral athletes despite the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Sabalenka said her decision not to compete was not because she could not represent Belarus.
"You have to sacrifice something," she said.
"I prefer to have a little rest to make sure physically and health-wise I'm ready for the hard courts...and I'll have a good preparation before going to the hard court season. I feel that this is safer and better for my body."
Jabuer to miss Paris Olympics
World No. 10 Ons Jabeur also confirmed she would not compete in the Olympic tournament after advice from her medical team.
"After consulting with my medical team regarding attending the Olympics in Paris, we have decided that the quick change of surface and the body's adaptation required would put my knee at risk and jeopardise the rest of my season," the Tunisian posted on social media.
"Unfortunately, I will not be able to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
"I have always loved representing my country in any competition. However, I must listen to my body and follow my medical team's advice."
Sabalenka and Jabeur are both appearing at the German Open in Berlin this week.
The former will be the second seed at the tournament behind Coco Gauff, with world No. 1 Iga Swiatek absent due to “overall physical and mental fatigue” following the clay season.
Sabalenka will be playing for the first time since a stomach illness hampered her in defeat to Mirra Andreeva in the French Open quarter-finals.
"It was the worst experience I had in my life on court," Sabalenka said about that loss.
"I've played while being ill, I've played with injuries, but when you have a stomach bug and you don't have any energy to play and you're in the quarter-final of a Grand Slam, that was really terrible experience. But it is how it is.
"I think my body was just asking for some rest. I managed to find a couple of days to chill and recover after the tough months."
Sabalenka plays Daria Kasatkina in her opening match in Berlin, while Jabeur will take on Wang Xinyu.
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