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© Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Serena Williams says she will not play at Tokyo Olympics
By HOWARD FENDRICH WIMBLEDON, England©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
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snowymountainhell
An admirable preemptive announcement from a person that previously did some less-than-admirable ranting:
Droll Quarry
Naomi... ?
anon99999
Olympic village jail, I mean bubble, playbook rules, cafeteria food and cardboard beds are just not millionaire tennis player’s style. Now if they could join the IOC dignitaries and Biden’s wife in the 5 star hotels and lavish banquets they might reconsider
Some dude
Good for her. Much as her attitude can sometimes leave a lot to be desired, as a player she has almost nothing left to prove and a medal at these games would do nothing to add to her reputation. I’d like to see more top athletes announce their absence from the games. These Olympics deserve to be a complete disaster from start to finish, and the more top athletes pull out, the better.
Aly Rustom
excellent point
hear hear
Yubaru
If she wasnt on the list, then why is she stating she isnt going? Was she supposed to go as an advisor or coach?
michaelqtodd
Serena Williams has been saying for a while that she will not go anywhere her 3 year old daughter cannot go. Who is ironically named Olympia! Olympic medals are not such a big deal for tennis players. Not the biggest prize as is the case with many other sports.
Excitement is building for the Olympics here in Australia. Teams are being announced and some are travelling to Japan already. All vaccinated I think.
Laguna
I know pressure. Sometimes, you just have had enough. I sincerely hope she enjoys her retirement - and new life.
Boku Dayo
Did she not want to give an interview?
snowymountainhell
Why would that be an issue for Wms @zichi 9:09am? - Even Canadian athletes are willing to leave their newborns behind to compete in these ridiculous Games.
Jun 25 “Need to breastfeed could block Canadian's path to Olympics” - *A Canadian basketball player is being “forced to decide between being a breastfeeding mom or an Olympic athlete.*”moonwatcher
Good.
Thomas Tank
translated: "None of your business."
starpunk
If I were in her shoes, or that of any athlete I wouldn't go. CoVid-19 isn't over yet.
The Olympics are going to be a bomb.
virusrex
I would have liked to hear those reasons but not enough to push anybody to answer, maybe she just don't want to collaborate with the unjustified increase of risk, maybe she was not really interested in the event from before, maybe she has just not recovered.
The important thing is that at least she has the opportunity to skip the games without having to say goodbye to her career, that is a luxury that many other athletes don't.
Peter Neil
The US pays only $25,000 for a gold medal, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze, so in the rarified financial air that Williams lives in, that might not be enough to entice her to leave her child. She already has gold medals.
lostrune2
She won't go because her daughter can't be with her (or it won't be a joyful experience even if they could)