Agnieszka Radwanska was a successful tennis player at her peak, world number two on the WTA Tour, and she's defended the absence of some high-profile athletes from the Olympics.
The Olympics are supposed to be the pinnacle of sports, so it's hard to imagine that any athlete would want to miss the Games. Generally, it's the other way around, and athletes do anything that is humanly possible to be part of the Olympic Games because it is a privilege.
Just being there means that you're among the best of the best, so why are a handful of prominent tennis players not playing at the event? Players like Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov won medals at the last Olympics, yet they're not playing this year.
It's not only about the ATP player, either, as some other big names like Aryna Sabalenka, Emma Raducanu, and Ons Jabeur aren't playing either. The Belarusian has been dealing with some injuries recently, even withdrawing from the 2024 Wimbledon Championships.
Marketa Vondrousova was in a similar situation, and she was a medalist at the last Olympics as well. Emma Raducanu is an interesting case because she was not a fan of how packed the schedule was, so she opted to skip the Olympics, as she'll have a chance to play sometime in the future.
Jabeur isn't guaranteed to be there in four years, but she, too, wanted to avoid the possibility of getting injured. The Games being played on clay certainly has something to do with it because it's not the easiest surface to play on, and with the hard court swing coming right after, not a lot were thrilled by that court change.
Had the Olympics been played on hard courts, all of these players might have played. Former player Radwanska could understand why players are skipping the Games, as she told Tennis365 in a recent interview.
"You can never tell how the girls are feeling and they will have their reasons for not playing at the Olympics. The tennis schedule is so tight. You have tournaments pretty much every other week and you prepare for that"
"Also, you know that in the year with the Olympics, it’s going to be tough. You have to think ahead about what is going to happen."
Plenty of players have mentioned the schedule as something tricky to handle, even those who were adamant that they would play at the Games. Some players listened to their bodies, which might be tired after a seven-month grueling schedule.
As Radwanska said, everybody has their reasons, but generally, players don't skip the Olympic Games for no reason. It is a huge privilege to represent their countries after all, and, for many, a dream that never comes true.
"You also have to listen to your body about what is right for you. That’s why it’s hard to comment on a player withdrawing from an event because it as to be about how they feel. They know better than us. They are doing what is right for them. It is always an individual thing."
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