June 27, (THEWILL) – As top tennis players take stock of their physical and mental balance in the determination of whether or not to enter into upcoming competitions, American female tennis icon, Serena Williams, has become the latest to announce her withdrawal from the 2021 Summer Olympics beginning next month in Tokyo, Japan.
Making this known on Sunday, the 23-time Grand Slam champion told reporters at SW19 in Wimbledon that her reasons for pulling out of Olympic consideration were personal and she was not going to discuss the reasons at the moment.
She said: “There’s a lot of reasons that I made my Olympic decision. I don’t really want to—I don’t feel like going into them today. Maybe another day. Sorry.
“I have not thought about it. In the past [the Olympics] has been a wonderful place for me. I really haven’t thought about it, so I’m going to keep not thinking about it.”
The younger of the Williams sisters is one of the most successful Olympic tennis players of all time. Serena won the singles gold in 2012 and was a serial winner of doubles gold with her sister, Venus, in 2000, 2008 and 2012.
Earlier, THEWILL reported that Australian professional tennis star Nick Kyrgios confirmed that he was teaming up with Venus to play the mixed doubles at Wimbledon.
While Rafael Nadal, tennis third-ranked male player, pulled out of both Wimbledon and the Olympics to recuperate from the strain of the clay court season, Naomi Osaka, the second-placed female tennis player, confirmed her participation in the Olympics but not Wimbledon.
Since then, Dominic Thiem, currently ranked fifth in the world of male tennis and who arguably has had a shaky form that is far from his best in 2021, took stock of his run of disappointing results and decided that it is best for him to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
