Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka and two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur on Monday withdrew from competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Both top 10 players said they did not want to switch from the grass at Wimbledon to the clay at Roland Garros for the Olympic Games and then immediately start the hard-court season in North America.
Belarus' Sabalenka, ranked third in the world, said she would rather rest.
“The schedule is too demanding so I decided to focus on my health,” she said in Berlin, where she was warming up for Wimbledon.
“I prefer to take some time off so that I am physically and healthily ready for the hard courts. I will be well prepared before entering the hard court season. I feel it is safer and better for my body.”
Jabeur, the Tunisian athlete ranked 10th in the world, wrote on social media that she was disappointed to not be able to compete in a fourth consecutive Olympics.
“We (and my medical team) have determined that the sudden change in surface and the physical adaptation that comes with it would put my knee at risk and jeopardize the remainder of my season,” Jabeur wrote.
“I always love representing my country in any sport, but I have to listen to my body and follow the advice of my medical team.”
Jabeur has competed in the past three Olympic Games but has never won.
