Osaka, Nishikori given green light to play for Japan at Paris Olympics

Osaka, Nishikori given green light to play for Japan at Paris Olympics

So, basically no medals.

If you are interested about the qualification system, ITF explains it in detail here. The cut off is very tight, and not only ranking, but other conditions also apply (national representation, maximum number of nominations per country, participation in Davis cup, etc). And there are a few "wild card" entries, which allowed Osaka and Nishikori to qualify:

https://www.itftennis.com/en/news-and-media/articles/olympic-qualification-explained-who-will-play-in-the-tennis-event-at-paris-2024/

REALLY???

Okasa's ranking is somewhere around the 120's. Nishikori is much worse. Japanese tennis is in a pretty sorry state if they don't find anyone in the top 50!

To be frank, I learned tennis as a child in a European country, then took some lessons as an adult in Japan. The strategy is purely robotic - learning to return standardized shots in standardized ways. Any tendency to increase strength or return difficulty ended in a berating from the instructor. I have very little positive experience, but no wonder they're that bad...

Surely there are more worthy Japanese? How about Taro or Nishioka? They're not exactly of tournament-winning calibre but they're much higher in the rankings.

"Nishikori, who has seen his world ranking slip to 286 after a series of injuries, was also given a special ranking that allows him to compete at the Olympics."

Ouch! 286?? Well, partly explains why we never hear from his "fans" anymore. And Osaka as well... the bandwagon has come to a complete halt. Once they lose out in the first round no one will ever mention them again. Well, come of her "fans" might go back to saying Naomi's not Japanese again.