The tennis community was shocked to hear about Jannik Sinner‘s withdrawal from the Paris Olympics. The sensation from Italy, who recently snatched the world no.1 crown from Novak Djokovic, put high hopes on himself. Now that the battle for gold is over and the 22-year-old has decided to resume his journey with the upcoming event in Canada, he explained how the decision to skip the Olympics was strategic.

The Australian Open champion, Jannik Sinner, is set to compete in the National Bank Open in Montreal from August 6 to 12, 2024. Sinner steps in as the defending champion as well as the top seed and therefore, looks forward to extending his impressive recent form. The young Italian created a massive line of dominance with victories at the Australian Open and Miami Open. However, the Paris Olympics withdrawal is still a question that demands answers.

In a recent press conference, Sinner reflected on his decision to withdraw from the Paris 2024 Olympics. He confirmed he stands by his choice to skip the Games. The 22-year-old also explained that if he had participated, he might have missed upcoming events due to the risk of worsening his condition. “The body needs a certain time to recover and then also to adapt to a new surface.” Sinner further said, “I also would not be here.“

Sinner’s withdrawal from the Olympics came after he was diagnosed with tonsillitis. Announcing his decision to skip the glorious event, he shared, “It was one of my main goals for this season to compete in the Olympics. Unfortunately, the tonsillitis forced me to miss it. I am deeply disappointed but will support my fellow athletes from home.”

With this, he passed on the torch to his compatriot Lorenzo Musetti, who faced a defeat in the semi-finals against Novak Djokovic. Altthough disappointed, he believed it was still the right call, “It was a very tough decision, but I believe it was the right one. If I had played in the Olympics, I could have faced a longer recovery and missed other important tournaments.“

The ATP Masters 1000 event is set to begin in just hours. As Sinner doubles down on his decision to skip the Olympics, he hopes that fans will understand his strategy. The fact that the gold medal contenders decided to keep themselves out added more weight to Sinner’s explanation.

Jannik Sinner saves himself from losing big numbers with Paris Olympics withdrawal

In addition to Sinner’s Olympics withdrawal, there’s more that adds to this dynamic. The young Italian was forced to miss the Rome Masters due to a hip injury, leaving himself with no room to miss another ATP Masters 1000 event. This can be compared to Alcaraz’s situation, because of which he’s set to miss 50% of the ATP bonus pool.

After a major setback in the gold medal match against Djokovic, the Spaniard announced that he is ready to skip the upcoming event in Montreal, marking the second ATP Masters 1000 event in the ongoing season that he would not be a part of.

“It has been a very long season for me and due to the accumulation of matches and fatigue, I will not be able to play in Montreal this year,” Alcaraz said, making it clear that the Paris Olympics is the reason why he needs some time off.

As Sinner looks to resume his journey with the North American hard court season as the top seed, it is clear that health concerns and monetary reasons fueled his decision to skip the Paris Olympics.