All eyes are turning back to Paris this week, with the men’s and women’s singles events getting underway at the 2024 Olympic Games over the weekend. While the best of the best will be competing for glory, there are some who have opted not to go.
We look at the biggest names that will be absent from this year’s Olympics tennis events, and why they will be missing the action.
Men’s Players Absent from the 2024 Olympics Tennis
Several big names have opted not to represent their countries in Olympics tennis this year, while others have withdrawn late. Here are the notable exclusions from the the men’s singles event:
- Hubert HurkaczÂ
- Andrey Rublev
- Ben Shelton
- Frances Tiafoe
- Sebastian Korda
- Grigor Dimitrov
- Karen Khachanov
- Adrian Mannarino
- Jiri Lehecka
Hubert Hurkacz is the biggest name missing this year’s Olympics, with the world No 7 withdrawing from the event this week. Hurkacz hurt his knee earlier this month at Wimbledon, and has not recovered in time. Jiri Lehecka will also not compete due to injury.
However, the majority of the other top men’s players absent from the Olympics are doing so voluntarily. Americans Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe and Sebastian Korda have all opted to focus on hard courts ahead of the US Open. Both Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachnov also chose not to compete, with the Russians being required to enter as neutral athletes.
Grigor Dimitrov, on the other hand, is a strange case. The Bulgarian is ineligible to compete at the Olympics due to an insufficient number of Davis Cup representations.
For Adrian Mannarino, he simply doesn’t like the Olympics. The veteran said he would only play if he won the French Open which, ah, he did not.
Women’s Players Absent from the 2024 Olympics Tennis
Plenty of women have chosen not to compete in Paris as well, with perhaps the biggest name missing from the Olympics tennis coming in the women’s singles. Here’s who won’t be there:
- Aryna Sabalenka
- Ons Jabeur
- Marketa Vondrousova
- Madison Keys
- Daria Kasatkina
- Liudmila Samsonova
- Anna Kalinskaya
- Victoria Azarenka
- Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
- Emma Raducanu
As evidenced above, the list of female players missing the Olympics is substantial.
Again, there are a host of Russian and Belarusian players opting not to compete as neutrals. These include Daria Kasatkina, Liudmila Samsonova, Victoria Azarenka and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.Â
While Aryna Sabalenka, the biggest name absent, is also not going to be in Paris, this is due to injury, rather than her nationality. Marketa Vondrousova, former Wimbledon champion, has also had to withdraw due to injury this week.Â
Other exclusions, such as Ons Jabeur, Madison Keys and Emma Raducanu, come purely due to choice. Jabeur cited the challenge of transitioning from clay to grass and back to clay, opting to give her body a rest instead.
