They are also both multiple-time Grand Slam champions, with Sinner winning his fourth at Wimbledon<\/a> most recently.<\/p>\n While they have a lot going right for them, a former Wimbledon<\/a> champion has now declared that he disagrees with something Sinner and Sabalenka<\/a> did last year.<\/p>\n Former Wimbledon doubles champion Vasek Pospisil played his final ever singles match<\/a> at the Canadian Open, losing to Facundo Bagnis.<\/p>\n After his retirement farewell at his home Masters 1000 tournament, Pospisil spoke in his post-match press conference<\/a>.<\/p>\n One of the questions addressed to Pospisil related to how much he relished competing for Canada, as part of the winning Davis Cup<\/a> team in 2022 and an Olympic<\/a> semifinalist in 2016.<\/p>\n Pospisil went on to claim that he could not understand how some players choose not to play the Olympics, something that both Sinner<\/a> and Sabalenka<\/a> were guilty of doing last year.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I mean, I think it\u2019s, I mean, like what\u2019s the point of this sport if you\u2019re not going to play for your country, and play, you know,\u201d said Pospisil. \u201cI mean, I don\u2019t understand players that don\u2019t play Davis Cup and don\u2019t play Olympics, I genuinely don\u2019t. It\u2019s like, how much money or success or this do you want to chase for yourself individually. Bigger picture, I just don\u2019t understand it, honestly.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s just a no-brainer. I mean, to play for your country, it\u2019s good for everybody. It\u2019s good for you, it\u2019s good for your energy, it\u2019s good to give back to your country, to be a role model for the kids.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay, prioritize a week of rest, to play another, to be fresh for one of a thousand tournaments that you\u2019re going to play in your career, or go and represent your country, when you\u2019re only going to have a handful of opportunities to do that in your career. To me I just don\u2019t understand it.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, I think a lot of times it comes down to money for these guys, and that\u2019s just not the right way to look at it. But, yeah, I mean, I just think it\u2019s a no-brainer. I don\u2019t know. It shouldn\u2019t be anything special, you know. I think it should be a default setting for everybody. But the fact that it feels that way I think is, you know, not great. I feel like players should always answer the call for their country.\u201d<\/p>\n Last year the tennis events at the Paris Olympics were held on the clay of Paris, where Novak Djokovic finally won an elusive gold medal<\/a>.<\/p>\n While there were many tennis stars in the French capital including Djokovic<\/a>, Carlos Alcaraz<\/a>, Coco Gauff<\/a> and Iga Swiatek<\/a>, there were also some notable players missing.<\/p>\n One of those was Sinner, who had never played at the Olympics before, and was forced to make a last-minute withdrawal due to tonsillitis.<\/p>\n He wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) at the time, \u201cI am bitterly disappointed to inform you that unfortunately, I will not be able to participate in the Paris Olympic Games. <\/p>\n \u201cAfter a good week of training on clay, I started to feel unwell. I spent a couple of days resting, and during a visit, the doctor diagnosed me with tonsillitis and strongly advised against playing. Missing the Games is a huge disappointment, as it was one of my main goals for this season.<\/p>\n \u201cI was eagerly looking forward to the honor of representing my country in this incredibly important event. A big good luck to all the Italian athletes, whom I will be cheering for from home. Forza Italia.\u201d<\/p>\n Sono amareggiato di informarvi che purtroppo non potr\u00f2 partecipare ai Giochi Olimpici di Parigi.<\/p>\n Dopo una buona settimana di allenamento sulla terra ho cominciato a non sentirmi bene. Ho trascorso un paio di giorni a riposo ed in visita il medico ha riscontrato una tonsillite e\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/Qrx8TJLoMA<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jannik Sinner (@janniksin) July 24, 2024<\/a> <\/p>\n View Tweet<\/p>\n While Sinner\u2019s withdrawal was not foreseen, Sabalenka never had any plans to play the Olympic Games.<\/p>\n The quick surface change from grass (Wimbledon) to clay (Olympics) to hard courts (US Open) appeared to put many players including Sabalenka off.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to play the Olympics,\u201d Sabalenka told press last year. \u201cEspecially with all the struggles I\u2019ve been struggling with the last months, I feel I have to take care of my health. It\u2019s too much for the scheduling.<\/p>\n Sinner and Sabalenka were not the only big names to miss the Olympics last year, with Ben Shelton<\/a>, Andrey Rublev<\/a>, Holger Rune<\/a>, Frances Tiafoe<\/a>, Elena Rybakina<\/a> and Emma Raducanu<\/a> some of the other notable names absent from the Paris Games for varying reasons.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n ![\"Vasek](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-1802415958-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo by Angel Martinez\/Getty Images for ITFVasek Pospisil does not know why tennis players skip the Olympics<\/p>\n![\"Vasek](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-1445690441-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo By Oscar J. Barroso\/Europa Press via Getty ImagesWhy did Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka miss the Paris Olympics last year?<\/p>\n