This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Alex de Minaur pulled out of Olympics singles competition, instead choosing to play only doubles in Paris as he deals with a hip injury.
The Australian No. 1 player was scheduled to play German Jan-Lennard Struff in the opening round of singles on the red clay courts at Roland Garros. Instead, Struff will play unranked Francisco Cabral of Portugal.
Also withdrawing Sunday were Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie (back injury) and Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina (illness).
Norrie was replaced by Petros Tsitsipas of Greece, who will play Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands. Petros is the younger brother of Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Kalinina’s spot in the woman’s draw was taken by Australian Olivia Gadecki. The latter will face Arantxa Rus, also from the Netherlands.
Ranked No. 6 in the world, de Minaur tore cartilage in his hip during a fourth-round win over France’s Arthur Fils at Wimbledon. The injury forced him to drop out of his quarterfinal match in London against Novak Djokovic.
Playing in the Olympics has been a dream for the 25-year-old de Minaur, who was forced to drop out of the pandemic-era Tokyo Games in 2021 after being diagnosed with COVID-19.
The Australian Olympic Committee announced his withdrawal early Sunday, saying de Minaur decided to prioritize playing in the doubles competition alongside childhood friend Alexei Popyrin. The duo will face Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram, the fourth seed, in their opener.
–Field Level Media
