Jannik Sinner withdraws from Olympic tennis due to tonsillitis

July 24, 2024

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Jannik Sinner withdraws from Olympic tennis due to tonsillitis

Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris due to tonsillitis.

The Italian world number one, who was seeded top in both singles and doubles, claimed doctors had “strongly advised” him against playing after contracting the disease.

“I regret to inform you that I will unfortunately not be able to participate in the Olympic Games in Paris,” he said in a statement.

“After a good week of clay training I started to feel unwell. I took a few days off and during a visit the doctor discovered tonsillitis and strongly advised me not to play.

“Missing the Games is a huge disappointment as it was one of my main goals for this season. I couldn’t wait to have the honour of representing my country in this very important event.

“Good luck to all the Italian athletes that I will support from home. Forza Italia.”

If you inform, you will not be able to participate in the Paris Olympic Games.

Having an idea of all the names on the ground can be a bad feeling. If you get a painkiller during a visit to a doctor, you risk getting tonsillitis… photo.twitter.com/Qrx8TJLoMA

— Jannik Zondaar (@janniksin) July 24, 2024

World No. 207 Andrea Vavassori will replace Sinner in the singles. World No. 40 Matteo Arnaldi or World No. 33 Luciano Darderi will join Wimbledon semifinalist Lorenzo Musetti in the men’s doubles.

Sinner’s last competitive tennis match came at Wimbledon, where he lost in five sets to Russian No. 5 Daniil Medvedev. During that match, the 22-year-old also appeared to be struggling with illness, with a doctor being called to the court to check his blood pressure in the third set before a lengthy medical timeout.

Afterwards, Sinner said at a press conference that “the physiotherapist better gave me some time, because he was keeping an eye on me and I didn’t seem in shape to play. I was struggling physically… it took a while, because I was dizzy.”

Later on Wednesday, twelfth-seeded Holger Rune also withdrew from the Games.

The Dane, who twice reached the quarter-finals of Roland Garros, said he played with pain in his wrist during the clay and grass seasons and, following medical advice, he would not participate in Paris.

What does this mean for the men’s singles tennis tournament at the Olympic Games?

As the ATP world No. 1 in singles, Sinner was seeded No. 1 for the men’s Olympic tennis tournament, with Serbia’s Novak Djokovic at No. 2 and Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz at No. 3. This seeding is similar to that at Wimbledon, where Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in the final after being seeded on the same side of the draw as Sinner, and Djokovic on the other side.

Now Alcaraz and Djokovic are on opposite sides of the schedule, meaning they can only meet in a final.