Injured Halep, Wawrinka join growing list of Olympic tennis no-shows
Serena Williams, Rafa Nadal, Dominic Thiem also skipping Games next month
World No. 3 Romanian Simona Halep and three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland have become the latest big-name tennis players to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics due to injury problems.
While Halep said she would not recover from a calf injury in time, Wawrinka underwent foot surgery that would rule him out of the Games, which begin on July 23 after being delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Halep and Wawrinka join 23-times Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, 20-time major winner Rafa Nadal and U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem among others in skipping the Olympics.
In May, the 29-year-old exited a clay-court event in Rome after picking up the injury during her second-round match against Angelique Kerber and was subsequently forced to miss the French Open and Wimbledon.
"After the disappointment of missing the French Open and Wimbledon having to skip the Olympics is incredibly tough to digest, but I am determined to come back stronger," she added.
Absent from tour since March
Halep suffered an opening-round loss at the London Olympics in 2012 and skipped the 2016 Rio Games due to concerns over the Zika virus.
Former world No. 3 Wawrinka, 36, underwent an operation on his left foot earlier this year and has not played on the tour since his opening round defeat by Lloyd Harris at the Qatar Open in March.
Wawrinka, who is currently ranked 30th, won a gold medal in doubles with Roger Federer at the 2008 Beijing Games.
"His team of doctors is extremely confident that they have now resolved the issue and that he will return to full fitness in the near future," the statement added.
"He is very disappointed not to be able to play in the Games and represent Switzerland in Tokyo, but he is already working hard on his recovery and towards his goal of getting back on court as soon as possible."
