Olympic tennis hit hard by withdrawals as Rybakina joins the list
PARIS: The Olympic tennis competition suffered another blow as women’s third seed Elena Rybakina joined a lengthy list of non-starters due to illness, just hours after the draw took place at Roland Garros on Thursday. The 25-year-old Kazakh, known for her powerful serve, was set to face Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian in the first round of the singles.
“It is difficult for me to announce this, but unfortunately, I will not be able to participate in the Paris Olympics. After Wimbledon, I contracted acute bronchitis, and despite trying to return to training, my body has yet to recover. The doctors have strictly forbidden me from going to court,” Rybakina posted on Instagram.
With the action set to begin on Saturday, the flurry of high-profile withdrawals has cast a shadow over the tournament being staged on the Parisian clay.
On Wednesday, men’s world number one and top seed Jannik Sinner of Italy had to withdraw from both the singles and doubles events due to illness. Additionally, promising Danish youngster Holger Rune also pulled out on Wednesday with a wrist injury.
Other notable absences from the tennis at the Games include world number three Aryna Sabalenka, Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, Britain’s Emma Raducanu, American Ben Shelton, and Tokyo men’s bronze medal winner Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain.
