Aryna Sabalenka has announced that she will miss the Olympic Games this year as she prioritises her health.
The world number two would still be allowed to play the Olympic Games despite Belarus being represented under a neutral name and flag.
However Sabalenka has decided to withdraw from the Olympics as she said it’s not healthy to keep changing surfaces.
Speaking ahead of her first grass court tournament in Berlin, Sabalenka explained her decision and spoke about the need to look after her health, “Especially with all the struggles I’ve been struggling with the last months, I feel I have to take care of my health,” Sabalenka told the WTA website.
“It’s too much for the scheduling and I made the decision to take care of my health. I prefer to have a little rest to make sure physically and health-wise I’m ready for the hard courts. I prefer to have a little rest to make sure physically and health-wise I’m ready for the hard courts.”
Sabalenka was a finalist at last year’s US Open before losing to Coco Gauff and now feels it’s right to prepare in the best way possible in order to go one step further this year.
Health has been a problem for Sabalenka this season as was shown in her quarter-final clash with Mirra Andreeva at Roland Garros with the Australian Open champion struggling with stomach problems.
Now playing her first tournament since Roland Garros Sabalenka detailed the exact problems in Paris and how she plans on winning her first title on grass, “It was the worst experience I had in my life on court,” Sabalenka shockingly said.
“I’ve played while being ill, I’ve played with injuries, but when you have a stomach bug and you don’t have any energy to play and you’re in the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam, that was really terrible experience. But it is how it is.
“I think my body was just asking for some rest. I managed to find a couple of days to chill and recover after the tough months. We just don’t play enough time on grass so I don’t have enough time to win a title.
“It’s not like I feel bad, I’ve made some good results on the grass and I feel really good. I think grass actually suits my game really well. So it’s not about the surface, it’s about the month of tournaments, the amount of opportunities that I have on a grass court.”
Sabalenka will begin her campaign in Berlin against Daria Kasatkina.
