TheCable

Serena Williams, the American tennis icon, says she won’t be competing at the Tokyo Olympics in the summer.

The 23-Grand Slam winner told reporters at her pre-Wimbledon video conference on Sunday.

The 39-year-old, however, did not disclose her reason for pulling out of the perennial sport’s showpiece.

“There’s a lot of reasons that I made my Olympic decision. I don’t really want to – I don’t feel like going into them today. Maybe another day. Sorry,” Williams said.

“I’m actually not on the Olympic list, so… Not that I’m aware of. If so, then I shouldn’t be on it.

“I have not thought about it. In the past, it’s been a wonderful place for me. I really haven’t thought about it, so I’m going to keep not thinking about it.”

Williams is one of the most successful Olympic tennis players of all time, winning singles gold in 2012 and doubles gold with her sister, Venus Williams, in 2000, 2008 and 2012.

Ten days ago, Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem also confirmed that they will be skipping the trip to Japan, a year after being the Olympic Games was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics is scheduled to run from July 23 to August 8.