The tennis world’s No 3 Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) will not participate in the Paris 2024 Olympics, the official website of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) announced. The Australian Open champion said she made the decision for health reasons and because she wants to conserve strength for the summer hard court season.
“In view of all the health problems I’ve had in recent months, I think it would be best to take care of myself and give myself some extra rest. My schedule is generally quite busy and I had to sacrifice some tournaments. I decided let this be the Olympics”, commented Sabalenka.
The competition in the French capital will be played from July 27 to August 4 at the Roland Garros complex and will be the first Olympic tournament on red courts since Barcelona 1992. This will make it even more difficult for tennis players, as the Olympics come immediately after the grass season and before the competitions on hard courts in North America, which included two consecutive WTA 1000 tournaments in Toronto and in Cincinnati, followed by the US Open in New York, where Aryna Sabalenka reached the final last season.
“I prefer to rest a little and prepare for the season on hard courts. I think it will be better for my body. I don’t want to take unnecessary risks”, said Aryna Sabalenka.
Aryna Sabalenka is a former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). She has won two major singles titles, at the 2023 and 2024 Australian Opens, and two major doubles titles, at the 2019 US Open and the 2021 Australian Open, both partnering Elise Mertens. She has won 20 career titles in total, 14 in singles and six in doubles.
