Tokyo 2020: Tennis player from Canada Denis Shapovalov withdraws from the Olympics due to the Covid-19 pandemic
Canadian tennis star Denis Shapovalov has left the Tokyo Olympics due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The world number 12 wrote on Monday, “Representing Canada means the world to me, but due to the current situation my team and I have decided this is the best decision for everyone’s safety.”
“I can’t wait to represent Canada at future Olympic games.”
Shapovalov, who reached the quarter-finals at last year’s US Open, pulled out of this year’s French Open with a shoulder injury a day after he lost in the Geneva final.
He has competed in two tournaments since, most recently in a Wimbledon tune-up at Queen’s Club in London where he lost in the semifinal on Saturday.
The 22-year-old Shapovalov is the latest player to opt out of the Olympics as Spaniard Rafa Nadal and Austria’s Dominic Thiem both announced last week they would not compete in the July 24 to August 1 men’s tennis tournament in Tokyo.
Earlier, Rafael Nadal had pulled out out from the Tokyo Games and Wimbledon 2021. The 20-time Grand Slam champion has decided to skip the Summer Games in a bid to focus on taking care of his body and prolonging his career. Nadal in fact, won’t be taking part in the Wimbledon 2021 as well.
Austrian tennis star Dominic Thiem had also decided to pull out of this year’s Tokyo Olympics in order to put all his focus and energy on defending his US Open title in New York later in 2021.
Japanese superstar Osaka will not play the Wimbledon but she will take part in the Tokyo Games.
