AP – Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka and two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur ruled themselves out of the Olympic Games in Paris yesterday.
Both top-10 players said they didn’t want to switch from grass at Wimbledon back to clay at Roland Garros for the Olympic tournament and then immediately start the hard-court season in North America.
World number three Sabalenka from Belarus said she’d rather have a break.
“It’s too much for the scheduling and I made the decision to take care of my health,” she said in Berlin, where she’s warming up for Wimbledon. “I prefer to have a little rest to make sure physically and health-wise I’m ready for the hard courts. I’ll have a good preparation before going to the hard-court season. I feel that this is safer and better for my body.”
World number 10 Jabeur from Tunisia wrote on X that not being able to play at a fourth consecutive Olympics was unfortunate.
“We (and my medical team) 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,” Jabeur wrote.
