Former world number one
Martina Navratilova believes that
playing at the Olympics so soon after the end of Wimbledon makes no sense as it affects their levels. The mega-event, which will be held from July 26 to August 09, will see thousands of players from all over the world participate in
different sports.
Navratilova was recently quoted in a report where she
highlighted that players will find it tough to participate in competitions following the Olympics, such as the US Open. This happened with Serbia’s legendary tennis star Novak Djokovic, who ended up losing in the fourth round just months after the Summer Olympics.
“So, basically, two weeks after Wimbledon is over Olympics
start, and the top players who had played here really but such a short
turnaround, and then you’re there and it’s emotionally exhausting physically
exhausting and then they go on the hard courts,” she said. “I think they’ll be
really, you know, tongues hanging out at the US Open. I think they’ll be okay
for the Olympics, but how much energy do you have? I think it cost Novak
Djokovic the Grand Slam three years ago, and now they’re doing it again. It’s
going to be tough more than the surface, it’s just the emotional and mental
stuff that will get you down.”
The third Grand Slam of the year just ended in London on
Sunday, where Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz won the title after beating Djokovic in the
final in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-2, 7-6. The fourth Grand Slam of
the year — the US Open — will be played from August 26 to September 08, roughly three wickets after the end of the Summer Olympics. In the men’s
singles category in the 2020 Olympics, it was Germany’s Alexander Zverev who defeated Russia’s Karen Khachanov to win
the gold medal for his country. In the women’s singles category, Belinda Bencic won a gold medal for her country after beating Markéta Vondrousova.