Olympic gold in tennis faces tough competition from injuries, illnesses and dreams of Grand Slam glory

(CNN) — The first round of Olympic tennis gets underway Saturday, but the red clay of Roland Garros will be missing some of the sport’s biggest stars, including world no. 1 Jannik Sinner.

While some are sidelined by illnesses and injuries, others are abstaining from the Games as a result of the professional circuit’s brutal schedule this summer.

Between the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, summer is always a busy season for those chasing an elusive Grand Slam title. Though the rest of the sports world sees the Olympics as the ultimate competition, the Games’ anthem falls flat amidst the prestigious yearly summer tournaments in Paris, London and New York.

“In some sports, like athletics and swimming, the pinnacle of their sport is the Olympics,” said Conor Niland, former no. 1 Irish player and author of “The Racket: On Tour with Tennis’s Golden Generation – and the other 99%.”

“In tennis, it’s just not quite there. They all want to win it, of course, but it’s not quite the same as winning a Wimbledon title, for example,” he added.

Niland’s sentiment seems true among the top US players. Of the five US men’s singles players currently ranked in the top 30 globally, only two will represent the nation at the Games, but all five players competed at the French Open and Wimbledon this year.

For American players – who, Niland noted, tend to have less experience on clay compared to European players – returning to Paris’ red clay is disruptive to their preparations for the US Open, which is played on hard courts. The ball moves slower on clay, so players must move differently.

“Getting used to the clay and the sliding requires mental and physical and tactical changes, which at this level, the very highest level, you have to be precise,” said Jeff Greenwald, elite mental coach, former Master’s ITF world No. 1 and author of “The Best Tennis of Your Life.”

Ben Shelton, the rising 21-year-old US star ranked No. 14 in the world, said the Olympics fall at a tough time in the tournament schedule, as he will be coming off a stint in Europe and wants to prepare for the US Open.

“Having to go back to Europe to play on clay, a different surface – it kind of messes up a few lead-up tournaments to the US Open that I would play if I wasn’t playing the Olympics,” Shelton told reporters in the spring.

Shelton isn’t alone in his worries about returning to clay directly after playing on grass courts at Wimbledon. Madison Keys from the United States, Ons Jabeur from Tunisia and Karen Khachanov from Russia – who would have to play as a neutral athlete – all mentioned the challenging surface as a factor in their decisions not to play at the Olympics.

Other players are sitting out after sustaining injuries on tour. This year’s Wimbledon bracket had severe disruptions after nine singles players retired mid-tournament, many abandoning play mid-match, due to injuries.

Hubert Hurkacz, the world no. 7 men’s player from Poland, retired in the fourth set of his second-round Wimbledon match after sustaining a knee injury diving for a ball.

Slated to play singles and mixed doubles with fellow Pole and no. 1 women’s player, Iga Swiatek, at the Olympics, Hurkacz announced his withdrawal from the Games on Monday. He said in an Instagram post that, though rehabilitation was going well, he did not feel healthy enough to play.

“This was a very, very difficult decision because I have always dreamed of representing Poland at the Olympics, being able to win a medal for the national team, but unfortunately my health does not allow it this year,” Hurkacz said in the post.

Fellow top players Holger Rune from Denmark and Marketa Vondoursova, the 2023 Wimbledon ladies’ singles champion from the Czech Republic, have also withdrawn from the Games, both sitting out due to hand and wrist injuries.

Greenwald said players often struggle with their game when recovering from an injury, not only because of the pain but also the mental obstacles of protecting one’s body.

“The fear of reinjury – being tentative, protective and not wanting to run for that ball – and feeling compromised can distract you from being free and executing your strategy,” he said. “It is a definite aspect of mental management to focus on what you can control.”

The most notable withdraw came from Sinner, the top-ranked men’s player from Italy, on Thursday. Announced just two days before the start of competition, Sinner said in an Instagram post that he has tonsilitis and is too sick to play.

Both Sinner and Rybakina expressed that they were disappointed to not represent their countries, with Sinner calling the Games one of his main goals for the season.

The following day, third-seed women’s singles player Elena Rybakina also withdrew from the Games. The Kazakhstani star said she developed acute bronchitis after Wimbledon, and her doctors “have strictly forbidden” playing until she gets better.

With so many of the top seeds out this year, the Olympics are truly a test of endurance, but the high number of withdrawals also speaks to the individuality of the sport.

Ultimately, the Olympics are symbolic, with no prize money or change in ranking. In the tennis world, the glory of an Olympic medal doesn’t rival the prestige – or purse – that comes with a Grand Slam trophy.

“I think they recognize it would be really exciting and an honor to play for their country, but their mindset is really geared toward maintaining the ranking, climbing the rankings, maintaining sponsorships, getting sponsorships,” Greenwald said. “And the Olympics doesn’t offer that.”

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