BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

Serena Williams says she will not play at the Tokyo Olympics

United States’ Serena Williams makes a forehand return to Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova during a tuneup event ahead of the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

BE - Test Share

More Sports

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241114185800

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241115200405

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118165728

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118184948

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Serena Williams said she will not go to the Tokyo Olympics, but did not want to say why during her pre-Wimbledon video conference with reporters Sunday.

“I’m actually not on the Olympic list…Not that I’m aware of. If so, then I shouldn’t be on it,” Williams said.

The 39-year-old Williams has won four gold medals at past Summer Games for the United States: in both singles and doubles at the 2012 London Olympics — which held the tennis competition at the All England Club — and in doubles at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and 2008 Beijing Olympics.

All of her doubles golds were won with her older sister, Venus, as her partner.

At the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, Serena Williams lost in the third round of singles to Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and the siblings were beaten in the first round of doubles. Before that, they had been 15-0 as an Olympic doubles team.

Latest News

“There’s a lot of reasons that I made my Olympic decision,” Williams said Sunday, the day before the start of main-draw action at Wimbledon, where she will try to collect her 24th Grand Slam singles title. “I don’t really want to — I don’t feel like going into them today. Maybe another day. Sorry.”

Asked what it will be like to sit out the Summer Games, Williams replied: “I have not thought about it. In the past, it’s been a wonderful place for me. I really haven’t thought about it, so I’m going to keep not thinking about it.”

Other top tennis players such as Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem also have said they’ll skip the trip to Japan, where the Olympics open on July 23, a year after being postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Roger Federer said Saturday he hasn’t decided whether to participate in the Tokyo Games and will figure that out after he sees how things go at Wimbledon.

Sports

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Site Settings Survey

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241119133138

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Cloudy

la

60°F Cloudy Feels like 60°
Wind
3 mph SSW
Humidity
82%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Cloudy. Low 52F. Winds light and variable.
52°F Cloudy. Low 52F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
3 mph SSE
Precip
20%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waning Crescent