Three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber announced via social media Thursday that she will not be competing inTokyo.
pic.twitter.com/fG5IOKA1CJ— Angelique Kerber (@AngeliqueKerber) July 15, 2021
pic.twitter.com/fG5IOKA1CJ
A two-time Olympian, Kerber won the silver medal in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. She also represented Germany in 2012 in London. She called those appearances “one of my favorite memories of my career so far.”
“This makes it even more disappointing for me to accept the fact that my body needs rest after the intense few weeks that lie behind me,” she wrote. “I have to recover first before returning to competition later this summer!”
Included in those intense weeks is a semi-final run at Wimbledon, where Kerber was defeated by eventual-champion and world No. 1 Ash Barty.
Also not playing at the Olympics are Serena Williams, Sofia Kenin and Bianca Andreescu. Simona Halep and 2016 gold medalist Monica Puig both had to withdraw due to injury.