By Eric Goodris | @atntennis | Sunday, July 28, 2024
Photo credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty
For many athletes, the chance to represent their country at the Olympics is a reward in itself. But this year’s Summer Olympics in Paris have come under fire for their policy of last-minute substitutions in tennis.
This includes players who currently have a very low singles ranking or none at all.
more: Nadal to start 60th match against Djokovic at Olympics
That was the case for the top seed. Novak Djokovic Serbia’s easy win over Australia Matt Ebden He won 6-0, 6-1 in 53 minutes in his opening match on Saturday. Ebden, who is currently unranked in singles, was once the world No. 1 in doubles but was included in the singles draw as a last-minute substitute.
Ebden has already competed in the men’s doubles event. Once ranked 39th in the singles, Ebden gave it his all but was no match for Djokovic.
Late withdrawals have left three players without an ATP singles ranking. #Olympic Single draw #Paris2024
Australia’s Matt Evden loses to Djokovic
Francisco Cabral Portugal
Petros Tsitsipas GreeceDon’t think this is that kind of inclusion. #Olympic I had… pic.twitter.com/bCU7c2nEbX
— Christopher Clare 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 (@christophclarey) July 28, 2024
Djokovic later said he understood the situation but that such a one-sided match would not have a positive effect on the tournament.
“There were a lot of singles players who had enough time, there were replacements, and they could have said they would come,” Djokovic said. “So I don’t understand that part, and I hope the ITF and the Olympics will consider changing this rule. It’s hard for Matthew. He said it’s been over two years since he played an official singles match, and this is his last singles match and he’s officially retired. Like I said, it’s not a good feeling for him to be on the court.”
Carlos Alcaraz When faced with a similar situation, Hardy HabibThe player representing Lebanon will face the Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion in the first round.
Habib is currently ranked 275th in the world in singles, but it was also another one-sided win for Alcaraz, who won 6-3, 6-1. Habib is the Polish Hubert Hurkatz He suffered a knee injury at Wimbledon and withdrew from the Olympics.
R2 🔜@Carlosalkaraz Advance to round 2 #Paris2024 🔥 Defeating Hardy Habib 6-3 6-1#Olympic | #tennis pic.twitter.com/3f3lE4Hcei
— ITF (@ITFTennis) July 27, 2024
Also both due to injuries Alex de Minor Australia and Cameron Norrie Australia withdrew before the opening game. They were replaced by Portugal. Francisco Cabral And in Greece Petros TsitsipasBoth players have already competed in the men’s doubles event.
The last-minute substitutions in the men’s singles event of players with little singles experience or who were not even ranked in the top 100 have frustrated many tennis players and fans.
No. 1 in the world Andy Roddick I took to social media to complain about the situation and offer some solutions.
The Olympic singles alternative situation is ridiculous. It’s stupid for a player who can’t or won’t do singles at the highest level to get called up.
— Andy Roddick (@andyroddick) July 28, 2024
Allow qualified on-site substitutes for singles
— Andy Roddick (@andyroddick) July 28, 2024
This is a tricky problem to solve because Olympic officials have to coordinate qualifiers and schedules with the regular tour.
According to Christopher Clary, writing for the ITF Tennis website, officials had to meet a strict deadline of July 19 to bring in new players to the event. In this case, if Hurkacz had withdrawn before July 19, a player with a higher singles ranking would have been added to the event.
“We’re part of a much larger operation,” said Alex Hughes, executive director of major events for the International Tennis Federation. “There’s nothing like it in the sport. So logistically, we’re not as nimble as a normal tennis tournament. We can’t change things as we want to.”
Hughes added that the Olympic Committee had to negotiate with national associations and athletes to find a date that was fair to everyone, which is why the July 19 deadline was chosen.
In Habib’s case, he entered the event as a universalist, essentially a wildcard for athletes from underrepresented national Olympic committees.
Finally, many top players have chosen not to compete at the Olympics at all for a variety of reasons: some due to scheduling, some due to injuries, some simply not wanting to change surfaces too quickly from grass at Wimbledon to clay in Paris and then to hard courts for the upcoming North American swing.
Although many athletes dropped out of the women’s singles event at the last minute, those who had already qualified in the singles category were able to join.
They included Katerina Siniakova, Daria Savil, and Lulu Sun These are players who have already competed in the women’s doubles event.
Djokovic faces his next opponent. Rafael Nadal We’re headed into round two of the 60th showdown between the two greatest fighters of all time.
Photo credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty
