Roger Federer and Bianca Andreescu withdraw from the Olympics

Roger Federer (Robbie Dale, Wikimedia Commons)

Two more notable tennis players have withdrawn from their names from the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. On Monday, Bianca Andreescu of Canada announced that she will not be participating in the biggest global sporting event in the world this year according to the Canadian Press, and on Tuesday, Roger Federer of Switzerland made the same announcement, as he explained a knee injury he suffered during the grass court season for his withdrawal.

The slippery grass courts at Wimbledon was one of the biggest stories from the third major of the year. Players slipped regularly and were injured. Among the more high profile withdrawals was American Serena Williams, who slipped in her first round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus, and was unable to continue.

There is no doubt that Andreescu meanwhile needs time to work on her game. She has regressed significantly since Miami when she reached the final and lost to Ashleigh Barty of Australia. Andreescu struggled in her first round loss at the French Open (she was beaten 6-7, 7-6, 9-7 to Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia), and got a royal Wimbledon, first-round beatdown from Alize Cornet of France (6-2, 6-1) on June 30. Andreescu now needs to be careful because a pair of poor performances later this summer at the National Bank Open (formerly the Rogers Cup), and the United States Open, could see a major drop in her world ranking.

Federer meanwhile won the silver medal in men’s individual tennis at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. There he was beaten by Andy Murray of Great Britain in the final, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4. At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Federer teamed up with Stanislas Wawrinka to win the gold medal in men’s doubles tennis. Federer and Wawrinka beat Thomas Johansson and Simon Aspelin of Sweden in the final, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3. Also, it has been widely reported that it was at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney where Federer met his wife Mirka.

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