With the Paris Olympics commencing, fans cannot wait to see the top stars across the globe in action. Meanwhile, tennis at the mega-event begins just a day after the opening ceremony. However, ahead of the much-anticipated event, tennis at the Olympics has been rocked by some star players pulling out of the tournament at the 11th hour. Among them were the likes of Jannik Sinner and now Elena Rybakina.

Earlier this week, Sinner, who is in great form this year, announced his withdrawal from the tournament owing to tonsillitis. Additionally, he hasn’t been completely well since his quarterfinal defeat at the Wimbledon Championships. Joining Sinner in this regard was Rybakina, who will also miss the flight to Paris.

The Kazakh tennis star was announced in the draw which was released earlier today but pulled out just two hours after the draw was released. Rybakina hasn’t been in the best of physical shapes recently and she made a candid revelation about her health problems. She said, “It’s not easy because sometimes you have more energy and you want to do some interesting stuff. Sometimes you are too tired and you just want to be on the couch after the matches. It’s just not easy to balance it out and your wishes and also be prepared for the next day. So, I mean it’s just you’re trying to balance it out, really.”

However, Rybakina’s loss is Naomi Osaka’s gain. The two were due to face in the second round of the tournament. However, now that Rybakina isn’t there, Osaka will have a smooth path in the earlier rounds.

Local star, Caroline Garcia will replace Rybakina in her position and Daria Saville will take Garcia’s spot. Additionally, Rybakina was also due to play mixed doubles with Alexander Bublik but the pair had to pull out with Rybakina’s withdrawal. Osaka will take on Angelique Kerber in the first round with Garcia a potential opponent in the second round. With Osaka setting high ambitions in Paris, Rybakina’s withdrawal comes as a boon to her.

Naomi Osaka determined to excel at the Paris Olympics

Osaka confirmed her participation at the Paris Olympic Games last month as she gets another chance to attain glory at the mega event. This will be Osaka’s second appearance at the Olympics, having reached the third round at the Tokyo Olympics. With an Olympic medal alluding to her so far, the Japanese star is giving her all to succeed in Paris.

While confirming her participation, Osaka said, “I would love to play. Growing up watching the Olympics on TV, I felt that it was a celebration of sport. I thought it brought everyone together and just to be able to be an athlete there and interact with other athletes is one of the funnest things that I’ve ever done. I have high ambitions of myself and I hope that I can do really well and get a medal.”

Osaka made a comeback earlier this year after being on a maternity break. Can she dig deep and attain a podium finish at the Paris Olympics? Let us know your views in the comments below.