Paris (AFP)
German Angelique Kerber, Olympic vice-champion in Rio in 2016 and recent semi-finalist at Wimbledon, has given up participating in the Tokyo Olympics (July 23-August 8), the player announced on social media Thursday.
“Representing Germany at the 2012 Olympics in London and the 2016 Olympics in Rio is one of the best memories of my career. It makes it even more disappointing for me to accept that my body needs rest after the intense weeks, "explained the former world No. 1 (30 weeks between September 2016 and July 2017).
Kerber reached the final of the Games in Rio in 2016, beaten to everyone's surprise by Puerto Rican Monica Puig, a few weeks after her final at Wimbledon (loss to Serena Williams).
The 33-year-old left-hander, winner of three Grand Slam tournaments (Australian Open 2016, US Open 2016 and Wimbledon 2018), found the last four of a major a week ago (beaten by Australian Ashleigh Barty ) at Wimbledon, for the first in three years.
"I have to recover first before I resume competition this summer," she added, as the US Open kicks off just four weeks after the Olympic tournament final.
Kerber adds his name to a long list of tennis players who have withdrawn from the Olympics-2020: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Nick Kyrgios, on the men's side, Serena Williams on the women's side.
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