Former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone will not be competing at the upcoming Olympic Games after refusing to accept a wildcard for the event.
The world No.111 received the invitation to play in Rio shortly after her straight sets loss to Simona Halep at Wimbledon. Rio could have been Schiavone’s fourth consecutive appearance at the Olympic Games. She has reached the quarter-finals at the event in both the singles (Beijing 2008) and doubles (Athens 2004).
In a post uploaded to her Twitter account, the 36-year-old explained she isn’t accepting the wild card because she wanted to focus on ‘her personal projects’.
‘Here in Wimbledon I was informed on the wild card for the Olympic Games in Rio. It’s news that made me happy. But I decided not to accept it because in this phase of my life, with the important decisions regarding the development of my career, I have to focus on my personal projects,’ she wrote on Twitter.
‘Because of it, I will not be in Rio. It’s not easy to take this decision, but I am proud to have worn the Italian t-shirt in three editions of the Olympic Games. In August I will be in front of the TV to support my compatriots.’
This season has seen mixed fortunes on the tour for the Italian, with a win loss of 8-9. At the Rio Open in February she defeated Shelby Rogers to win her first WTA title since 2013. On the other hand, leading up to the Wimbledon championships Schiavone suffered three consecutive first round losses on the tour.
There has been rumours circulating concerning Schiavone’s retirement plans. During the French Open, officials made a massive blunder by announced the Italians retirement by mistake following her first round loss. Following the error, Schiavone clarified her current position on retirement.
“I will announce when I will want to stop,” she said in May.
The Olympic games will take place in August. Following Schiavone’s withdrawal, Italy will be represented in the women’s draw by Roberta Vinci, Sara Errani and Karin Knapp. It is currently unknown as to who will take Schiavone’s place.
