Sabalenka, Jabeur skip Summer Games

PARIS, France (AFP) — World No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and three-time Grand Slam runner-up Ons Jabeur of Tunisia will be missing the Paris Olympics to prioritize their health.

Sabalenka, 26, lost to Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva in the French Open quarterfinals earlier this month.

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

“With all the struggles 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.

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 1 July.

“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 quarterfinal of a Grand Slam, that was a really terrible experience.”

Jabeur, on the other hand, said she will sit out the Olympics to avoid further injury to her right knee, which she had operated on last year.

“After consulting with my medical team regarding attending the Olympics in Paris, we have decided that the quick change of surface and the body’s adaptation required would put my knee at risk and jeopardize the rest of my season,” Jabeur said on her social media accounts.

“Unfortunately, I will not be able to participate in the 2024 Olympics.”

Jabeur reached the final at Wimbledon in 2022 and 2023 and at the US Open in 2022. She competed at the Olympics in London in 2012, in Rio in 2016 and in Tokyo five years later.