Jannik Sinner forced to withdraw from Olympics due to tonsillitis
After the postponement of the start due to a fever, the South Tyrolean tennis player communicated through his staff his decision to forgo the Games. Sinner hopes to play in the Olympics in the future and wishes the Italian team the best. His withdrawal raises questions about the recent management of his physical condition
from our correspondent Marco Bellinazzo
2' min read
2' min read
PARIS - After postponing his departure for Paris because he was suffering from a fever, Jannik Sinner froze Italian fans by surprisingly announcing his withdrawal from the Olympic competition, an appointment the Atp number one had declared since the start of the season that he was particularly keen on.
In the communiqué released by his staff this afternoon, 24 July, two days before the Opening Ceremony - a 'private' communiqué that has left a lot of ill feeling in the Coni environment - it is stated that Sinner 'after a week of rehearsals in Munich, began to experience symptoms of illness on Monday evening. After consulting his medical team the following day, he was strongly advised to withdraw from the Olympic Games due to the diagnosis of tonsillitis'.
The Thought of Sinner
."I am extremely sad and disappointed. Competing in the Olympic Games was one of my main goals for this season,' stressed the Italian tennis player. 'I was really looking forward to returning to 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 me a little more time to see if my condition would improve, I unfortunately got worse. As I said, this is upsetting for me and I hope to compete in the Olympics in the future. I am looking forward to competing with my teammates and the rest of the Italian team, but that will be it for now. As advised by my medical team, I will now take some time to rest and recover in full health. I would like to wish all the best to the whole Italian team for this important event and I hope to come back stronger in the future'.
The Non-Jannik Period
.Sinner will therefore not be in Paris to chase on the clay of Roland Garros that Olympic gold medal for which he was one of the great favourites. This time, more than Alcaraz or Djokovic, it was a sneaky tonsillitis that debilitated the number one tennis player in the world, after the Wimbledon knockout in the quarter-finals against the Russian Danil Medvedev, caused by an illness that forced the 22-year-old from Alto Adige to take a long break during the match, and after the previous physical problem with his hip in Monte Carlo that forced him to miss the tournaments in Madrid and Rome.
Illnesses and injuries that leave more than one doubt about the recent management of the number one ranking, author of a powerful climb to the top of world tennis between the end of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, sealed by the conquest of Melbourne. A management that in recent months has seen many concessions to marketing - just think of the countless commercials filmed to coincide with Wimbledon - and to gossip, with the engagement to Russian tennis player Anna Kalinskaya filling the tabloids, despite the couple's attempts at understatement.
