Denis Shapovalov Joins Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem in Withdrawing From Tokyo Olympics 2020

Canadian tennis star Denis Shapovalov is an exciting player to watch. The offensive style of play that he displays makes him stand out from the others on Tour. In recent years, he has registered some impressive results against the top players.

Recently, it came to light that Denis Shapovalov will be missing and not compete at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, which begins on the 23rd of July and will end on the 8th of August. The Canadian player was gutted that he will be unable to represent his nation on the big stage. It is a decision he takes with a heavy heart but intends to compete at the Paris Olympics in 2024.

The 22-year-old stated, “It was definitely a difficult choice. Obviously, I have always dreamt of representing Canada, representing my country at the Olympics. It’s something I think every athlete dreams about growing up – and especially me. I’ve always wanted to go. With the COVID restrictions and everything going on right now, we just decided with the team that it’s just best for us to skip this one. But for sure, it’s definitely a big pity.”

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Obstacles in the path of Denis Shapovalov ahead of the Olympic Games

The world continues its battle against the ongoing coronavirus. Due to that, players have been skeptical and thoughtful about their choice of tournaments to compete in. However, after deep discussions with his team, Denis wished he has a successful grass-court season and will give it his all. 

The 15th ranked player added, “That’s obviously in play. I mean, it’s the shoulder’s kind of a recurring thing. So I don’t want to play too, too much, and put too much stress on it. And for sure, it’s something that I’m constantly having to go back to my team with and discuss as we did for the French Open. We decided we really want to have a good grass-court season.”

Besides Shapovalov, players like Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem are the high-profile names that have decided to give the Olympic Games a miss this year. It will be interesting to see how the players fare at the Wimbledon Championships and soon after at the Tokyo Olympics.

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