Ons Jabeur, Aryna Sabalenka to skip Paris 2024 Olympics

BERLIN: The world no 3 Aryna Sabalenka and the world no 10 Ons Jabeur of Tunisia will not compete in the forthcoming Paris Olympics.

The reigning Australian Open winner told reporters at the Ladies Open that she decided to care for herself and prepare for the hard-court summer.

"Especially with all the struggles I've been struggling with the last months, I feel I have to take care of my health. It's too much for the scheduling and I made the decision to take care of my health," Sabalenka said at media day on Monday as quoted by WTA.

For the first time since Barcelona in 1992, the Olympic tennis tournament will be held on clay. Players will have to move from grass at Wimbledon to clay at Roland Garros for the Olympics before returning to North American hard courts. The hard-court summer will include back-to-back WTA 1000 events in Toronto and Cincinnati, followed by the year's final Grand Slam, the US Open, where Sabalenka reached the final last year.

"I prefer to have a little rest to make sure physically and health-wise I'm ready for the hard courts. And I'll have a good preparation before going to the hard court season. I feel that this is safer and better for my body," Sabalenka said.

Sabalenka is the second seed this week in Berlin. She is competing in her first tournament since Roland Garros, where she suffered a stomach ailment after her quarterfinal loss to Mirra Andreeva.

"It was the worst experience I had in my life on court. 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 really terrible experience. But it is how it is. 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," Sabalenka said.

Jabeur has also announced that she will skip the Olympics for precautionary measures against injury.

"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. Unfortunately, I will not be able to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics," Jabeur posted on social media on Monday.

"I have always loved representing my country in any competition. However, I must listen to my body and follow my medical team's advice," she added.

Meanwhile, Naomi Osaka and Caroline Wozniacki, former world number one players, are scheduled to return to Roland Garros for the Paris 2024 Olympics.