The year of 2016 is a special year for many sporting countries around the world as many prepare for the arrival of the Rio Olympic Games. For some tennis players the Olympics isn’t in the forefront of their minds for a number of a reasons, which begs the question of whether this needs to be addressed?
Ranking the Olympics ahead of winning a grand slam?
Last week in Birmingham, Coco Vandeweghe opened up about her feeling of adoration to the Olympic games and even suggested that she would have prioritized winning an Olympic medal over prevailing victorious at a Grand Slam. The fact that Vandeweghe’s mother also competed at the Olympic games also contributed to Vandeweghe’s positive outlook on the prestigious event that occurs every four years, but what are the reasons behind some players devaluing the Olympics completely?
One major set back that has played a part in some male tennis players abruptly disregarding the event is because the Olympics now doesn’t offer any points. Therefore many players who previously would have talked positively of the Olympics are now favoring playing normal ATP events in order to support their career in that sense. When looking at the problematic lack of a points system it has contributed to the withdrawals of some top ATP players like Dominic Thiem, Bernard Tomic, Feliciano Lopez, and John Isner, among many. Not all have vacated the Olympics on the same grounds of the removal of the ATP ranking points, but overall it has played a major part in the thought processes of some top tennis players around the world.
Radwanska on the importance of the Olympic Games
To a certain extent it can be debated that it substantially belittles the importance of what is usually a very special event. An event as globally acknowledged as the Olympics should be universally appreciated in tennis by all players. In today’s press conference, Agnieszka Radwanska put forward her viewpoint on the reasons behind the differentiating opinions on the Olympic Games.
“Well, for us, for tennis players, there are so many other events. The other sports, they just have Olympics and some other championship and that’s it. So maybe that’s why. And also if someone just know they have no chance for medal, you know, you’re playing for nothing pretty much. So I think that’s the decision for a few of them that they decided to play something else. But, you know, I understand that because, you know, when you’re there and making third round, what do you have? I mean, no points, no nothing. Just nothing. Well, I just understand those players that they just wanted to play something, you know, that it’s counting for the ranking.”
Radwanska put forward some fair points. On one side of the argument you could say that more needs to be done in order to preserve the importance of the Olympics in our sport. On the other hand it can be argued: what bigger incentive do you need than representing your country at an Olympics event? Only the elite worldwide sportsmen and sportswomen have the privilege of performing at an Olympic games, so it should be valued by all in the sport of tennis in particular.
The Polish No. 1 also provided her honest opinion on the desperate need for a points system at the Olympics.
“I think it’s still tough, still a big draw. You know, you’re playing really good matches from the first rounds. There should be some point as was before. Of course, you’re not defending them next year, but still, I think this is a huge event and there should be points, yes.”
Cibulkova feels the US Open takes priority over the Olympics
2014 Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova was very strongly opinionated when drawing the comparisons between Olympics and Grand Slam events.
“For me the Grand Slam is the biggest, you know. For some athletes it’s the Olympic Games. But for me it isn’t. You know, for me it’s like I really want to do well at a Grand Slam and that’s my priority. And of course I want to do good at the Olympic Games, but it’s not like, you know, that it’s something I work for four years.”
An interesting talking point came at the end of the press conference, where Cibulkova agreed with Radwanska that a points award system needs to be reinforced at Olympic events in tennis, just like the regular tour events.
“I was really, really sad and disappointed that there are no points for Olympics. I think that puts down a lot of motivation for a lot of players I would say. I think it’s not right, and I think they should do something with that. Yeah.”
In the London Olympics, the winner of a gold medal in the Men’s singles accumulated 750 ranking points, while the Women earned 685 points. Amongst the divided opinions of how highly the Olympics ranks in a player’s schedule, there has to be some reformation to the current outlook on tennis in the Olympics.
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