Not just Sinner: the Olympics are more unpopular with tennis stars than ever

Novak Djokovic had just converted his historic match point at Wimbledon when his path to the Golden Slam, previously only achieved by Steffi Graf, was already mapped out on the Olympic homepage. The message from the tennis world number one will probably be all the more shocked in Tokyo that he is reconsidering the previously planned start. The currently outstanding Serb is just one of many stars who are having second thoughts about the circumstances or have already canceled. Serena Williams isn't flying to Japan, nor is Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer is still thinking - all of them have already been Olympic champions. Not so Djokovic, who, with 20 Grand Slam titles, is the record winner at the four most important tournaments together with Federer and Nadal. With success at the US Open, Djokovic would become the first men's tennis player to win all Grand Slam tournaments in a calendar year since 1969. Steffi Graf was also Olympic champion in 1988 and even achieved the so-called Golden Slam. Djokovic could also succeed. “It just doesn’t feel right and it never has.” Nick Kyrgios But the exclusion of spectators and further corona-related restrictions made him reconsider. “This is not great news. It was really disappointing when I heard that,” said the 34-year-old about the lack of fans an hour after his sixth Wimbledon title in front of 15.000 enthusiastic spectators on Center Court. Nobody wants to go back to the sterile atmosphere in tennis. “The thought of playing in front of empty stadiums just doesn’t feel right to me and never has,” explained Australian Nick Kyrgios, who was also injured, when he canceled. The Austrian Dominic Thiem and the Romanian Simona Halep are also missing as other medal contenders due to injuries. ' Nadal, Thiem, Halep and Co. At the beginning of July, shooting star Jannik Sinner also announced that he would not be taking part in Tokyo. He said he hasn't played his best tennis recently and now wants to focus on his development. “I need this time to work on my game,” said the South Tyrolean. whose decision nevertheless caused quite a stir. As was the case before the last US Open, Djokovic dislikes the fact that he doesn't have his team with him and, among other things, the stringer of his rackets is not allowed to travel with him. The fact that he may not be allowed to attend events in other sports also plays a role in the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist's considerations. The professionals who had come a long way at Wimbledon had just been in a bubble for weeks and were only commuting between the facility and their central hotel. Semi-finalist Denis Shapovalov no longer has the desire or energy to be in the next one in just a week and a half. The 22-year-old emphasized that it was a dream to represent Canada at the Olympics, but added: “Mentally, I’m slowly getting ready. I’m exhausted, not just from the tournament, but from the entire situation.”

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Not just Sinner: the Olympics are more unpopular with tennis stars than ever

Jannik Sinner's decision not to go to the Olympics recently caused a lot of discussion, but the list of tennis stars who don't want to travel to Tokyo is getting longer and longer. Now even the best thing of all is threatened with cancellation.

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