Kerber joins other tennis stars in skipping Olympics

Jul 16, 2021 06:00 am

Angelique Kerber became one of the latest tennis stars to pull out of the Tokyo Olympics, saying yesterday that her body needs rest.

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Dominic Thiem have all pulled out of the Games, while newly crowned Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic put his chances of playing in Tokyo at "50/50".

Kerber,33, said it was disappointing to have to accept the fact that "my body needs rest after the intense few weeks that lie behind me and that I have to recover first before returning to competition".

The former world No. 1 won the grass-court event at Bad Homburg last month before reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals, where she lost to eventual champion Ashleigh Barty.

Kerber won silver in the women's singles at Rio 2016, losing to Monica Puig in the final, and also reached the last eight in London 2012.

Another former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka also withdrew from the Olympics yesterday, citing "challenges from the pandemic". - AFP