Emma Raducanu will not play the Olympic Games this summer despite being offered a wildcard as a previous grand slam champion.
Raducanu, 21, played a starring role for Great Britain in France back in April, beating Diane Parry and Caroline Garcia, but will not be part of the team heading to Paris at the end of July.
Instead, British No 1 Katie Boulter will be Team GB’s only representative in the women’s singles, while four men including Andy Murray will play in the men’s singles; Murray will also play doubles with Dan Evans, if they are accepted into the draw.
“She [Raducanu] feels that this isn’t going to be the right timing for her for this summer,” said Olympic team leader Iain Bates, who has worked closely with Raducanu this year and was notified on 13 June that she would be offered a wildcard.
“I think a lot of that is obviously in the late notice of the spot [and] I think there’s the bit around the surface change between grass and clay and hard, and everyone’s aware of her history and the double wrist surgery from last year that that places a great stress on her.”
With Roland Garros hosting the event, it will mean those taking part have to go from the of Wimbledon grass to clay and then to hard courts, ahead of August’s US Open, in the space of just four weeks, a gruelling and potentially damaging schedule.
Bates also revealed that Raducanu’s efforts to recover her world ranking – she is currently 165 in the live standings – ahead of the US Open later this year also influenced her decision.
He added: “Pushing her ranking back towards where we all hope it will be is really significant for everybody, to see her back at the top of the game.
“I’m extremely happy to see her on the court playing the level of tennis that she’s played on and off during the course of this year.”
Team GB nominations
Men’s singles
- Andy Murray (ITF wildcard)
- Jack Draper
- Dan Evans
- Cameron Norrie
Women’s singles
Men’s doubles
- Andy Murray-Dan Evans
- Joe Salisbury-Neal Skupski
Women’s doubles
- Katie Boulter-Heather Watson
- Harriet Dart-Maia Lumsden
Meanwhile Murray is confirmed as playing his fifth Olympic Games, having been offered a wildcard on the basis of having won singles won gold at London 2012 and Rio 2016.
However, he may not end up fulfilling the nomination, given his combined ranking with Evans is a meagre 159 and he hinted last week in Germany that if he does not get into doubles, he is not “100 per cent sure” that he will play singles.
Murray and Evans will learn their fate when the entry list, decided by combined ranking of the two players, is confirmed before the 25 June deadline.