Paris (AFP)
Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, ranked third in the world, announced her absence from the tennis competition at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer “in order to take care of her health.”
Sabalenka (26 years old) lost to Russian teenager Mira Andreeva in the quarter-finals of the French Open, the second major tournament, at the beginning of this month.
Olympic tennis competitions will be held on clay courts between July 27 and August 4, three weeks before the start of the US Open.
“Especially with all the difficulties I have faced in recent months, I feel that I must take care of my health,” Sabalenka told reporters.
She continued, “It is a very difficult matter regarding the calendar, and I have made the decision to take care of my health.”
Sabalenka, the Australian Open champion in 2023 and 2024, is scheduled to return to action this week in Berlin, after suffering from a stomach illness at Roland Garros.
She will also be present to participate in the third Grand Slam tournament, Wimbledon, starting on July 1.
“It was the worst experience I’ve ever had on the field,” she said.
She added, “I played during my illness, and I played with injuries, but when you have a stomach problem and you don’t have any energy to play and you are in the quarter-finals of one of the four major tournaments, it was a truly terrible experience.”
She added, “I think my body was just asking for some rest. I was able to have a few days to relax and recover after the difficult months.”
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