Canadian Grand Slam winner Bianca Andreescu will not start the Tokyo Olympics, which start next Friday, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The fifth North American player in the world rankings is the latest in a row of stars to drop out of games: Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka, Nick Kyrgios, Serena Williams and Simona Halep have previously canceled their participation. I’ve been dreaming of representing Canada in the Olympics since I was a little girl. But due to the challenges of the pandemic, deep in my heart, I feel this is the right decision now. Andreescu, 21, wrote on Instagram, who won the US Open in 2019, making him one of the first GS champions in Canadian history.
His compatriot, Denis Shapovalov, who reached the semi-finals in Wesleydon, announced earlier that he would not play in Tokyo.
Belgium’s David Goffin, who finished 20th in the men’s world rankings, said on Tuesday he would not travel to the Japanese capital because he had not yet recovered from an ankle injury.
There is very little time left with the Olympic tennis tournament kicking off next Saturday. I was training again a week ago, but I didn’t hold my racket.” Goffin, who wanted to compete in Tokyo despite the pandemic and a closed goalkeeper settlement, said goodbye to the five-ring first-round matches in 2012 and the eighth final in 2016.
The Belgian player was injured in Halle in mid-June: he sustained a small fracture in one of his ankles and a torn ligament. Goffin plans to return to the field in the United States in August.
