Ons Jabeur has joined Aryna Sabalenka in missing the Paris Olympics because of concerns over the demanding tennis calendar and schedule.
Speaking to the press at the Ecotrans Ladies Open in Berlin, reporter Jonathan Crane of DW in Berlin asked world No 3 Sabalenka about the challenge of switching not just from clay to grass — as always happens between the French Open and Wimbledon — but then back to clay, with the Olympic tennis tournament taking place on the clay courts of Roland Garros from July 27.
In response to the question, Sabalenka said that she is “not gonna play (at the) Olympics,” explaining that she had to sacrifice something ahead of a packed summer schedule.
Aryna Sabalenka told the press in Berlin that she won't play the Olympic Games in Paris
Here's the reason behind her decision👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/kCsVdnFye5
— Talking Tennis (@TalkingTennisTT) June 17, 2024
Sabalenka, who is a two-time Grand Slam champion having won the Australian Open in 2023 and 2024, struggled with stomach issues during her French Open quarterfinal against Mirra Andreeva, losing 7-6 (5) 4-6, 4-6, and the Belarusian said those problems had also influenced her decision. She also cited the new WTA rules for 2024, in which all 10 Masters 1000 tournaments (those one level below a Grand Slam tournament) are mandatory.
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Later that day, two-time Wimbledon finalist Jabeur confirmed that she too will miss the Games owing to the timing and going back-and-forth between surfaces. In a statement posted to X, the Tunisian world No 10 wrote that she and her team have “decided that the quick change of surface and the body’s adaptation required would put my knee at trisk and jeopardize the rest of my season.”
— Ons Jabeur (@Ons_Jabeur) June 17, 2024
Sabalenka and Jabeur join Britain’s Emma Raducanu in deciding to turn down the opportunity to appear at the Olympics in favour of focussing on the long game of the tennis season and its demanding schedule.
The 26-year-old Belarusian has already been forced to make sizeable adjustments to her game while competing in tournaments in recent years, working with her team to completely remodel her serve in the summer of 2022 after a long period of struggling with double faults. Jabeur, meanwhile, has struggled with the knee that she mentions in her statement throughout her career.
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Sabalenka and Jabeur alike will remain in the mix for the Wimbledon title when the tournament begins on July 1, moving on to hard courts — Sabalenka’s preferred surface — for the American and Canadian swing that follows the London tournament.
(Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)