Olympic Tennis Faces Setback with High-Profile Withdrawals

Women's third seed Elena Rybakina withdraws from the Olympic tennis competition due to illness, alongside notable absences including Jannik Sinner and Andy Murray. Rybakina's withdrawal spot is taken by Caroline Garcia. The withdrawals cast a shadow over the tournament at Roland Garros.

The Olympic tennis competition suffered a significant setback as women's third seed Elena Rybakina joined a lengthy list of non-starters due to illness, just hours after the draw took place at Roland Garros on Thursday.

The big-serving 25-year-old Kazakh was scheduled to face Romania's Jaqueline Cristian in the first round of the singles. 'It is difficult for me to announce this, but unfortunately, I will not be able to participate in the Paris Olympics. After Wimbledon, I contracted acute bronchitis, and despite trying to return to training, my body has yet to recover. The doctors have strictly forbidden me from going to court,' Rybakina posted on Instagram.

Rybakina's withdrawal means that France's Caroline Garcia moves into her spot in the draw as the 17th seed, while Australia's Daria Saville enters the draw as an alternate. With the action to begin on Saturday, the flurry of high-profile withdrawals has cast a cloud over the tournament being staged on the Parisian clay.

Additionally, men's world number one and top seed Jannik Sinner of Italy had to withdraw from the singles and doubles because of illness, while Danish youngster Holger Rune also pulled out on Wednesday with a wrist injury. Czech player Marketa Vondrousova, who was runner-up in the singles in Tokyo, withdrew because of injury, as did Poland's Hubert Hurkacz due to a knee injury from Wimbledon.

Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, the champion in Tokyo, is absent after giving birth in April. Two-time Olympic singles champion Andy Murray announced before Thursday's draw that he was not fit enough to compete in the singles but would still play doubles with Dan Evans.

Other notable absences from the tennis at the Games include world number three Aryna Sabalenka, Tunisia's Ons Jabeur, Britain's Emma Raducanu, American Ben Shelton, and Tokyo men's bronze medal winner Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain.

(With inputs from agencies.)