Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov, medallists from the last Olympics, reportedly won’t be playing at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris.
In a very surprising statement by Russian Tennis Federation president Shamil Tarpischev, Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov will not play at the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.
This is shocking news for tennis fans around the world, especially because of the success these two had in the previous Olympic Games. Nobody gives up on the Olympics unless they have to and that seems to be the case in this instance.
It’s even more surprising because both Rublev and Khachanov won medals in Tokyo. Khachanov won silver in singles, while Rubev won gold in mixed doubles with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Now they’re both set to miss out on the Games in Paris. As for Khachanov, there is no information about why the Russian won’t be playing in Paris. Until now, nobody has given any indication for why he might miss it, but in the case of Rublev, it’s fatigue.
The Russian battled tonsillitis during the Madrid Open, which he won, but it left his body greatly weak, and he’s yet to really recover from it.
With a busy schedule this summer, including Wimbledon, Rublev opted out of playing at the Olympics, as reported by TASS. He will probably use that time to really recover his body properly after that crazy bout with tonsillitis.
These two are not the only Russians opting out of the Olympics, as Tarpischev confirmed that Liudmila Samsonova also wouldn’t be playing in Paris.
“Rublev, Khachanov, Samsonova will not play [at the Olympics]. Andrei needs recovery, he plays everything in a row. The body is not made of iron.”
It’s unfortunate for all three to miss the event, but in the case of Rublev, it makes sense because this year’s summer schedule is brutal.
