Why Tennis Stars Are Saying No to the Tokyo Olympics – WSJ
The sport’s biggest names are withdrawing from the Games left and right. Even Novak Djokovic is on the fence during his historic season.
images.wsj.net/im-369145?width=620&size=1.5023474178403755 620w, Roger Federer won’t be playing in the Tokyo Olympics. He won a silver medal in men’s singles at the 2012 Games.
PHOTO: CARL COURT/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES Joshua Robinson
Novak Djokovic entered the tennis season aiming to pull off something no man has ever managed in the sport: a sweep of all four major tournaments, plus a gold medal in the Olympic singles tournament. And after dominating Wimbledon earlier this month, he’s now most of the way there.
Yet even with history on the line, Djokovic is having second thoughts about making the trip to Tokyo. So are plenty of others in the tennis world with far less to play for. There are no rankings points or prize money on offer and these summer Olympics are set to be the most restrictive in history due to pandemic regulations.
So while athletes in most Olympic sports are determined to get to Tokyo no matter what, the list of tennis stars who have already withdrawn reads like a roster of the sport’s most famous names. Roger Federer on Tuesday became the latest to withdraw from contention, citing a setback to his surgically repaired right knee. He joined Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, 2020 U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem, 2019 U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu, top-ranked American Sofia Kenin, and Australia’s Nick Kyrgios, who all pulled out to better prepare for the U.S. Open, which begins in late August.
“Obviously I want to play the Olympics, I want to represent my country. It’s a dream for me,” said men’s No. 10 Denis Shapovalov, of Canada. “But it’s really tough with these restrictions. It puts a lot of pressure on you.”
images.wsj.net/im-369150?width=620&size=1.5403128760529483 620w, Serena Williams won a gold medal in women’s singles in 2012 but won’t be going to Tokyo.
PHOTO: TOBY MELVILLE/REUTERS
One player with definite plans to be there is Japan’s Naomi Osaka. After skipping the French Open and Wimbledon, citing mental-health concerns, she is set to be one of the faces of the Games.
Women’s world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty said after her Wimbledon win on Saturday that she also plans to go—even though it means she will now spend a total of up to eight months away from her native Australia. But Djokovic, her counterpart on the men’s side, remains on the fence.
“My plan was always to go to the Olympic Games,” he said after winning his 20th Grand Slam title at the All England Club on Sunday. “But right now I’m a little bit divided. It’s kind of 50/50 because of what I heard in the last couple days.”
Djokovic was stunned that the bubble around the Athletes’ Village might be so tight that he wouldn’t be allowed to watch other events in person or bring along key members of his team, like his racket stringer.
So rather than strain to fly halfway around the world, many would just prefer to head straight to the North American hard court circuit and prepare for their runs at Flushing Meadows, where a round of 16 appearance alone is worth $250,000 in prize money. Kyrgios, for instance, said he felt less than 100% physically and preferred to spend the time recovering than taking a chance at a tournament that had so little going for it.
“It’s been my dream to represent Australia at the Olympics and I know I may never get that opportunity again,” he wrote on Twitter. “But I also know myself. The thought of playing in front of empty stadiums just doesn’t sit right with me. It never has.”
Athletes have known for months that no fans from outside Japan would be allowed to attend events. But Tokyo organizers only announced in the past two weeks that not even domestic supporters would be in the stands.
images.wsj.net/im-369149?width=620&size=1.4050493962678376 620w, Rafael Nadal won gold in men’s singles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics
PHOTO: ELISE AMENDOLA/ASSOCIATED PRESS
For tennis, that would be a return to the dark days of last fall, when the U.S. Open and Roland-Garros unfolded in virtual silence. Players hated it. And this season, every new tournament has brought them closer to the atmospheres they remembered in the pre-pandemic world.
This June in Paris, authorities unexpectedly lifted a curfew so that 5,000 people could watch the epic conclusion of the French Open semifinal between Djokovic and Nadal. And by July in London, British authorities had opened up enough to fill the stands completely at the men’s and women’s singles finals on Wimbledon’s Centre Court.
Players also enjoyed looser controls than they did during last year’s brutal season. The idea of going back into that environment in Tokyo is more than some can handle.
“It was a lot to do with the restrictions, being in the bubble again, this whole situation,” Shapovalov said. “It’s not easy mentally for anybody. That was a big part of the decision.”
www.wsj.com/articles/tokyo-olympics-tennis-djokovic-federer-serena-11626275677
