- Alex de Minaur withdraws from the Paris Olympics
- Australian star suffers hip injury
- His girlfriend Katie Boulter is ready to compete.
Alex de Minaur has withdrawn from his Olympic singles first-round clash with Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff, opting to focus on doubles while he recovers from his hip injury.
The Australian number one suffered the injury at Wimbledon, tearing cartilage in his hip in the dying moments of his round-of-16 win over Arthur Fils.
He retired from his quarter-final match against Novak Djokovic, and the injury appeared to threaten his dream Olympic debut after a recovery of between three and six weeks.
But the world No. 6, who is dating Britain’s Katie Boulter, arrived in Paris desperate to play after being heartbreakingly forced to pull out of the Tokyo Games at the last minute in 2021 after contracting COVID-19.
It remains to be seen whether De Minaur will be present for Boulter’s first-round clash against Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová, which takes place later today.
De Minaur admitted she was still recovering from the injury but was looking forward to wearing the green and gold jersey on the clay of the French capital, having reached the quarter-finals at the French Open.
However, AOC announced early Sunday morning (local time) that she had withdrawn from her singles match scheduled for later that day.
“He has tried to do everything he can to be prepared to play singles at the Olympics,” an AOC spokesperson said.
Alex de Minaur withdraws from the Paris Olympics
British tennis player Katie Boulter’s boyfriend will not be able to compete
‘He will focus on men’s doubles alongside his childhood friend Alexei Popyrin.’
De Minaur and Popyrin will face American fourth seeds Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram in their opening match.
The Olympic tennis event will be held at Roland Garros until August 4.