World No.1 tennis star Jannik Sinner will have to wait for his Olympic debut as the Italian will be pulled out from the upcoming Paris Olympics on Wednesday. Sinner has been diagnosed with tonsillitis and was 'strongly advised' against playing in the Quadrennial event.
"I’m extremely sad and disappointed. Competing at the Olympic Games was one of my main goals for this season," Sinner said in a statement. "I was really looking forward to being back at Roland Garros and playing for my country in this prestigious event. However, after seeing my doctors on Tuesday and waiting an extra day to give myself some more time to see if my condition would improve, things unfortunately got worse," he added.
Sinner trained for a week in Monaco ahead of the Games but felt symptoms of illness on Monday evening, following which he consulted the doctors. He had the Olympics in her sight as a big tournament of the season but will wait for at least four more years to be part of the Summer Games.
"As I said this is upsetting for me and I hope to be able to play the Olympics in the future. I was looking forward to competing with my teammates and the rest of the Italian team, but for now that will have to wait," Sinner said. "As advised by my medical team, I will now take some time to rest and recover to full health. I’d like to wish the whole team of Italia the best for this important event and hope to be back stronger in the future," he added.
Sinner had a good run in 2024. He won his first major title in the form of the Australian Open to kickstart the year but was knocked out in the semifinals of the French Open by Carlos Alcaraz and in the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon by Daniil Medvedev. Sinner has won 14 ATP titles in his career with four of them coming in 2024.