2012 Wimbledon finalist and former world No. 2 Agnieszka Radwanska says Emma Raducanu, Aryna Sabalenka and Ons Jabeur should absolutely not be judged or blamed over skipping the Paris Olympics due to the reason they all listed.
Before Wimbledon, three big names – Raducanu, Sabalenka and Jabeur all confirmed they would not go to the Olympics after the third Grand Slam of the season. And when announcing their Paris Olympic withdrawal, all three cited concerns over the constant surface changes as the reason for their decision.
After playing on clay for two consecutive months, players had to make a quick switch to the grass. And since the North American hard court swing season is starting shortly after Wimbledon, that means that players who wanted to play at the Paris Olympics would go from clay to grass – then back to clay from grass – before going to hard courts.
Naturally, that led to some players fearing that bouncing from surface to surface in such a short time would increase the risk of them getting injured. But their decision wasn’t welcomed by some – especially in Raducanu’s case – who received some strong criticism and scrutiny by the British public.
However, Radwanska, who made three Olympic appearances during her career, fully understands why…
