Australia’s Nick Kyrgios has become one of the first athletes to formally pull out of the Olympic Games over their decision to ban spectators from attending events being held in Tokyo.
On Thursday the Japanese government made a decision to hold events behind closed doors amid a rise in COVID-19 cases in the area. A state of emergency in the city has been imposed until August 22nd in a bid to help combat the infection rate. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has reported that daily new cases have surged this week from 342 on Monday to 896 on Thursday. The announcement has received the full backing of the International Olympic Committee.
In light of the development, former top 20 player Kyrgios has opted not to travel to the tournament. The Australian recently played his first international event in over a year at Wimbledon where he reached the third round before being forced to pull out due to injury. Whilst speaking to reporters from The All England Club, Kyrgios had previously stated he was unsure about attending.
“I just want to let you know that I’ve decided to withdraw from the Olympics. It’s a decision I didn’t make lightly. It’s been my dream to represent Australia at the Olympics and I know I may never get that opportunity again,” Kyrgios wrote on Twitter.
“But I also know myself. The thought of playing in front of empty stadiums just doesn’t sit right with me. It never has.”
The 26-year-old also made reference to wanting to fully recover from his injury before returning back to competitive tennis. Kyrgis has been troubled with an issue in his abdominal area but there has been no public comment on the severity of it.
”I also wouldn’t want to take an opportunity away from a healthy Aussie athlete ready to represent the country,” he continued. “I will also take all the time I need to get my body right. Good luck to all the Aussies competing.”
It is understood that Australian officials will meet to discuss who they will be replacing Kyrgios with. John Millman, James Duckworth and Alex De Minaur have already been confirmed to play in the men’s singles tournament.
The Olympic Games will not entirely be held behind closed doors with events taking place in the regions of Fukushima, Miyagi and Shizuoka still permitted to have spectators up to 50% of capacity and up to 10,000 people.
The Olympic tennis tournament will start on July 24th at the Ariake Coliseum.
