Aryna Sabalenka to skip Olympics to prioritise ‘health’

Paris: World No 3 Aryna Sabalenka said on Monday she will miss the tennis event at the Paris Olympics “to take care of her health”.

Belarus’ Sabalenka, 26, lost to Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva in the French Open quarter-finals earlier this month.

The tennis events at this summer’s Games take place on clay between July 27-August 4 with the US Open starting three weeks later.

“Especially with all the struggles I’ve been struggling with the last months, I feel I have to take care of my health,” Sabalenka told reporters.

“It’s too much for the scheduling and I made the decision to take care of my health.”

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, athletes from Russia and Belarus who qualify for the Games can only compete as neutrals in Paris.

Return to action

Australian Open champion Sabalenka is set to return to action this week in Berlin, having suffered from a stomach illness at Roland-Garros.

She is expected to feature at Wimbledon, starting on July 1.

“It was the worst experience I had in my life on court,” she said.

“I’ve played while being ill, I’ve played with injuries, but when you have a stomach bug and you don’t have any energy to play and you’re in the quarter-final of a Grand Slam, that was really terrible experience.

“I think my body was just asking for some rest. I managed to find a couple of days to chill and recover after the tough months,” she added.