Aryna Sabalenka finds the Olympic year schedule quite daunting due to the amount of tennis in a rather short period and other factors.
This year's tennis calendar is richer by one big event. It's the Olympics year, meaning this year's calendar also features the Olympic tennis event. It's challenging, considering that it's a big tournament that no player wants to miss, but it also adds more matches to an already packed part of the calendar.
Roland Garros begins on May 26th, Wimbledon begins on July 1st, and the Olympics begin on July 26th, so that's three significant tournaments in two months. That's a lot of tennis, especially since it's going to be a quick transition between surfaces.
From clay to grass, and then back to clay once more. It's quite daunting for Sabalenka, who wonders how healthy that will be for the body. She obviously wants to play at all of those and likely will, but it's certainly something she worries about, and she detailed that ahead of the 2024 Indian Wells Open.
"It's a tough schedule and everything is super tight and super close. It's just crazy, we like, go clay, grass, back on clay, I don't know if it's safe for the body. I'm super happy to play Olympics and hopefully, physically, mentally, I'll be ready to compete there."
There was a chance Sabalenka wouldn't have been able to play at the event, but ultimately, it was decided that players from Russia and Belarus could play at the event. Obviously, that's great for Sabalenka, who has ambitions to win a medal for her country despite the calendar reservations.
She nearly made the final at Roland Garros last year, so she's certainly familiar with the courts. While not the best clay player, she's too good to be counted out on any surface, even the one that suits her the least.
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