Three-time Grand Slam runner-up Ons Jabeur said on Monday that she will sit out this summer's Paris Olympics to avoid further injury to her knee.

Tunisian Jabeur, 29, will miss the Games, held between July 27 and Aug. 4. 

The tennis competition is being played at Roland-Garros, meaning a switch back to clay immediately after the grass season and before the hard-court run-up to the U.S. Open.

Last year, Jabeur underwent surgery on her right knee.

"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," she added.

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

Wimbledon starts on July 1 with the U.S. Open beginning on Aug. 26.

Earlier in the day, world number three Aryna Sabalenka said she would also miss the Olympics to protect her fitness.

Source: Japan Today  

BDST: 1253 HRS, JUN 18, 2024
MN