One of the biggest surprises of the 2020 Olympics was Marketa Vondrousova, but she won't be playing at this year's Olympic Games in Paris.
The Czech player has had a very interesting career so far. She was fairly young when she shockingly made the Roland Garros final many years ago in 2019. That run proved her talent, but her performances were never quite consistent.
A huge part of this is because of her health, which has never been the best. She has had to deal with many injuries over the course of her career. Her run in the 2021 Olympics was another proof of her talent, and it was again in line with how her career had progressed until that point.
Nobody saw it coming, but things clicked for her, and she made the final, in which she lost to Belinda Bencic. Winning the silver medal was a huge success for Vondrousova, whose career took a turn for the better after that.
It wasn't overnight, but slowly but surely, things were improving. She started to play better and more consistently, and her health also helped her out. The pinnacle of her progression came in 2023 when she surprisingly won the Wimbledon Championships, which aligned with a great year that sent her into the Top 10 on the WTA Tour.
This year hasn't been that successful for Vondrousova, who has again struggled with injuries. On top of that, like every athlete, she also has a life away from the tennis courts, and the challenging period she had to go through likely contributed to her level dropping a bit as well.
Her title defense at Wimbledon went badly, and now she won't be able to defend her Olympic silver medal either. Only five days before the official start of the tennis part of the Olympics, Vondrousova released an update on social media where she confirmed her withdrawal from the Games.
The reason named is health which is, once again, very unfortunate for the Czech player, who would certainly be among the favorites, given her final run at Roland Garros in the past.
"I'm very sorry, but due to health reasons, I will not be participating in this year's Olympic Games in Paris. I was hoping until the last moment that it could at least be possible in doubles, but problems with my hand won't let me on the court."
"I am now focusing on being ready for the US Open, and I will be cheering for all Czech representatives in France from afar. Hopefully, I'll be back on the court soon."
Vondrousova has had a couple of injury problems this year and has missed a couple of events so far. For example, she missed over a month in March and then had also a nasty slip recently in Berlin.
She didn't look great at Wimbledon and possibly played injured as well. It's clear that the Czech player had hoped to play at the event until the very last moment, but unfortunately, it wouldn't happen.
Her next target will be the US Open, as the injury seems to require a lengthier absence, and she will likely take a conservative approach after dealing with many injuries in her career.
In singles, she will be replaced by fellow compatriot, Katerina Siniakova, who made it high enough in the WTA Rankings to qualify for the Olympics, but because the Czech Republic is so successful in tennis, and only four players per country could qualify, the World No. 38 didn't make it.
In doubles, Vondrousova will be replaced by Linda Noskova, who will be teaming up with another former finalist at Roland Garros, Karolina Muchova.
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