Serena Williams Will Not Play At Tokyo Olympics

Serena Williams will not appear at the upcoming Tokyo Olympic games, but the four-time gold medal winner declined to state why.

Speaking at her pre-Wimbledon press conference, Williams said: “I’m actually not on the Olympic list – not that I’m aware of. If so, then I shouldn’t be on it.”

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Pressed as to why, Williams refused to be specific. “There’s a lot of reasons that I made my Olympic decision. I don’t feel like going into them today. Maybe another day. Sorry.”

Williams said in May that if she couldn’t bring her daughter with her to the games, she would likely not go. Current Japan protocols for Covid-19 restrict who can enter the country. Williams has been in every Summer Olympics since 2004, winning four gold medals, including three in doubles and one in singles.

Her dropout from the tennis competition joins those of fellow stars Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem. Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have not yet committed to taking part. The erosion of star power has to concern NBC, which is paying close to $8 billion for the rights to televise and streams the games.

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