Sebastian Korda isn't playing at this year's Paris Olympics, which was an interesting choice, because the American missed the last Olympic Games as well.
While the Olympic Games are the pinnacle of many sports, tennis is a bit different. The event is meaningful and prestigious, and the medal is something that everyone wants to win, but it doesn't command as much respect as, for example, Wimbledon does.
The strongest draws in tennis aren't at the Olympics because of how representation looks in practice. This doesn't happen at Wimbledon in the same way, as only the highest-ranked players on either the ATP or the WTA Tour get to enter the Grand Slams.
In Korda's case, he would like to compete at the Olympics, but he has never played at the Games. The American had a chance to play in Tokyo three years ago, but he didn't.
He had a chance to play this year and didn't again, so why did it happen? In Tokyo, he chose not to compete because of the pandemic, as he didn't feel that comfortable traveling somewhere where thousands of athletes were present.
There was a lot of uncertainty with everything, so he chose to stay in the United States. This year, Korda didn't want to play on clay anymore. He spent three months in Europe playing on various surfaces, and he wanted to be back home on the hard courts playing and earning points, as he revealed ahead of the 2024 Citi Open in Washington, where he is set to compete.
"Yeah, Tokyo was I think difficult just because, I mean, it was COVID. You didn't really know what was going to happen there. I just didn't really feel comfortable going. My sisters both went and they had an amazing time."
"I felt this year that I just needed to, yeah, just play on the hard courts. It's an important time of the year for me. I don't have a lot of points also to defend. Just wanted to be home."
"I was in Europe for close to three months, I think over three months. Yeah, just wanted to be home, play a tournament in the United States, just try and play better for the rest of the year."
For Korda, it's not about going against the Olympic games because he does want to play at the Olympics. The next Olympics will be held in Los Angeles, and he will undoubtedly want to be there.
He confirmed this when asked by the media. The event will be played on hard courts, where he plays his best tennis, and it will be back home in the United States and in Los Angeles.
"Oh, for sure. I would love to make the L.A. team. If that opportunity presents itself, I'm definitely there."
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