Aryna Sabalenka recently announced that she’s set to miss the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Belarusian cited scheduling issues and the risk of compromising her health as the reasons.

In March, amid uncertainty surrounding the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes at the Olympics, the ITF announced that players from both countries would be allowed to participate as neutrals if they comply with the International Olympic Committee’s principles. However, despite the favorable news, several tennis players from both countries have opted out of the event, mainly due to health concerns.

Tennis at the Paris Olympics (July 26- August 11) will be held at Stade Roland Garros (the venue of the French Open) just a couple of weeks after Wimbledon, which is played on grasscourts. The North American hardcourt swing, meanwhile, will commence simultaneously, with the US Open main draw matches starting on August 26.

Aryna Sabalenka previously expressed concerns over the congested scheduling and the rapid surface changes.

“It’s a tough schedule and everything is super tight and super close. It’s just crazy, we like, go clay, grass, back on clay, I don’t know if it’s safe for the body,” she had said in her press conference in Indian Wells.

The Belarusian has now announced that she won’t compete in Paris.

“Well, I’m not going to play Olympics because of all the rules from the WTA with mandatory tournaments. So, I have to sacrifice something and unfortunately, I have to sacrifice the Olympics at this stage of my career,” she said during her pre-tournament press conference in Berlin.

The World No. 3, who has dealt with a lower back injury and a stomach bug in recent weeks, noted that she wishes to prioritize her health.

“And especially with all the struggles … I’ve been struggling last months; I feel like I need to take care of my health. But that’s so tricky. I mean, it’s too much for the scheduling, and it’s just too much. And I made the decision to take care of my health,” Aryna Sabalenka added.

Russia’s Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov, who won gold in mixed doubles and silver in singles, respectively, at the Tokyo Olympics, have similarly decided to skip the Paris Olympics alongside compatriot Liudmila Samsonova.

Aryna Sabalenka to kick off 2024 grasscourt campaign against Daria Kasatkina

Aryna Sabalenka was most recently in action at the 2024 French Open, where she was dismissed by Russia’s Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals. She will now shift her focus to the grasscourt events.

The two-time Grand Slam champion, who has twice been a semifinalist at Wimbledon, is chasing her maiden title on the surface. She’s set to begin her run at the WTA 500 in Berlin.

After a bye in the opening round, the Belarusian has set up a second-round meeting with Russia’s Daria Kasatkina. Kasatkina is through to the Round of 16 with a victory over Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.

Aryna Sabalenka skipped the post-match press conference after losing to 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals of the French Open 2024 women’s singles. On Wednesday, June 5, the Belarusian player lost to Andreeva 7-6(7-5), 4-6, 4-6 at Philippe-Chatrier in a game that lasted two hours and 29 minutes, and crashed out of the clay-court major.

The 26-year-old Sabalenka faced issues with her health during the match and seemed in a lot of discomfort. But instead of throwing in the towel and retiring midway, she showed agility and played until the very end. However, given her indifferent health conditions, she decided to skip the press conference after the match.

Journalist and tennis commentator Jose Morgado shared the update on Sabalenka. He also said that Sabalenka’s post-match comments would be made public on Thursday by the WTA team.

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“Aryna Sabalenka is unable to attend her post-match press conference tonight due to illness and is with the tournament medical team. WTA communications staff will provide quotes from Aryna which will be transcribed and uploaded to RG media this evening,” Morgado wrote.

Aryna Sabalenka’s journey in French Open 2024

Sabalenka came into the French Open after finishing as the runner-up in Rome and Madrid. Both times, she lost to World No.1 Iga Swiatek in the final. Although she could not win the titles, Sabalenka was one of the strong contenders to win in Paris.

She cruised past Erika Andreeva before taking down Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima in the second round. Thereafter, Sabalenka defeated her best friend Paula Badosa in the third round. In the fourth round, she got the better of USA’s Emma Navarro, whose defeat confirmed Madison Keys and Danielle Collins’ berths in the Paris Olympics.

En route to wins in her first four matches at the Roland Garros, she did not drop a single set and hence, was the outright favourite to beat Mirra Andreeva as well. However, she ran out of energy after her health on the court deteriorated during the match.

Additionaly, Sabalenka dropped one place down to No.3 in the WTA rankings after losing to Andreeva. 2023 US Open champion Coco Gauff, who will lock horns with Swiatek in the semi-final on Thursday, became the new World No. 2.

As far as Andreeva is concerned, she will now be up against Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, who knocked out fourth seed Elena Rybakina out of the competition. She also became the youngest Grand Slam semi-finalist since Martina Hingis back in 1997.