Ons Jabeur and Aryna Sabalenka say they won’t compete at this summer season’s Olympic Video games in Paris with a purpose to prioritise their well being.
World quantity three Sabalenka retained her Australian Open title in January however misplaced to Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva within the French Open quarter-finals this month.
That was the primary time the Belarusian, 26, had misplaced earlier than the semi-finals of a serious because the 2022 French Open.
Jabeur, the world quantity 10, has been battling a recurring knee harm over the previous two years and the 29-year-old Tunisian is anxious about taking part in on grass and exhausting courts both aspect of the Olympics.
The tennis competitors on the Video games takes place on the clay courts at Roland Garros from 27 July to 4 August, with the US Open starting 22 days later.
Jabeur, who was additionally crushed within the French Open quarter-finals, stated on X, exterior she and her crew had “determined that the fast change of floor and the physique’s adaptation required would put my knee in danger and jeopardise the remainder of my season”.
Sabalenka, who was runner-up ultimately yr’s US Open, stated: “I desire to have a bit of relaxation to ensure bodily and health-wise I am prepared for the exhausting courts.
“Particularly with all of the struggles I have been battling the final months, I really feel I’ve to deal with my well being.
“It is an excessive amount of for the scheduling and I made the choice to deal with my well being.”
Athletes from Russia and Belarus who qualify for the Video games can solely compete as neutrals in Paris, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russian males’s world quantity 4 Daniil Medvedev is among the many gamers who intend to compete on the Olympics as a impartial athlete.
Sabalenka is about to play in Berlin as a part of her Wimbledon preparations, having reached the semi-finals final yr.
Wimbledon takes place from 1-14 July.
