The American Olympic tennis team will travel to Rio de Janeiro without their top men’s player after John Isner confirmed that he will not be participating in the event.
It is understood that the world No.16 took the decision based on his schedule. The 30-year-old is expected to play in the Atlanta Open a week before the Rio Games. Isner has won the Atlanta tournament three times in a row and this year he could become the first active American on the ATP Tour to win a title four years in a row.
“It’s a decision I didn’t take lightly,” Isner said about skipping the Olympics.
“Logistically, it would be pretty much impossible for me to do both,” he later added.
According to ajc.com, the 30-year-old will instead rest during the Olympic week as he prepares for the American hard-court swing. Straight after the Olympics will be the Cincinnati Masters followed by the US Open two weeks later.
Isner made his Olympic debut at the 2012 London Games where he reached the last eight before losing in straight sets to top seed Roger Federer.
Under Olympic rules, The United States can take up to four athletes to Rio. As the rankings currently stand, the four highest ranked American players are Jack Sock (26), Steve Johnson (32), Sam Querrey (38) and Rajeev Ram (56).
The Olympic tennis event will start on August 8th at the Olympic Tennis Center. The newly built venue consist of a 18,250 capacity stadium court as well as 15 outside tennis courts. Some of the players confirmed for the men’s draw include defending champion Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
