Korda sisters lead U.S. team for golf competition
Nelly Korda goes to the Olympics as the No. 1 player in the world, and the Americans will have one extra player than they had in 2016.
The 60-player field for Tokyo was set Tuesday, although players for the men’s and women’s competitions will not be certified until next week.
Countries were allowed two players until the field was full, with a maximum of four provided they were among the top 15 in the women’s world ranking. South Korea, the powerhouse in women’s golf, again had all four, with Hyo-Joo Kim at No. 6 in the world getting the last spot.
Inbee Park easily made it back in her bid to win a second gold medal. The other medal winners from Rio de Janeiro, Lydia Ko of New Zealand (silver) and Shanshan Feng of China (bronze) also will be in Japan.
The Americans had only three players within the top 15 in the world for the 2016 Games. This time they will have four, including a pair of sisters. Korda, coming off her first major title in the Women’s PGA Championship, will be joined by older sister Jessica, who is No. 13 in the world.
The other Americans are Danielle Kang (No. 5) and Lexi Thompson (No. 9). Thompson is the only returning American in the Olympics.
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Tennis: Top-ranked Ash Barty is set to lead Australia’s 11-member tennis team at the Tokyo Olympics. The Australian squad was announced Tuesday, hours before Barty’s win over Carla
Suarez Navarro in firstround match at Wimbledon.
Former U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur was selected to play singles and doubles in her fifth Olympics, while Nick Kyrgios, Alex de Minaur and John Millman were among the men selected for the Australian team.
“I think making your first Olympic team, particularly as an Australian, we have such a rich history and the Olympics is something I’ve always dreamt of and obviously super excited to get out there and represent the green and gold,” Barty said in a statement. “It’s a massive united team and I can’t wait to be a part of it.”
Some of the highestprofile players in the sport won’t be contesting the Tokyo Games, where heavy restrictions will be imposed on athletes and foreign fans have been barred. Serena Williams has announced she won’t be in contention for the U.S. team.
On the men’s side, Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem also have said they’ll skip the trip to Japan, where the Olympics open on July 23.
Roger Federer is reserving his decision until after his campaign at Wimbledon.
Testing: Athletes coming from countries where the delta variant of the coronavirus is prevalent will be required to take virus tests daily for seven days prior to their departure for the Tokyo Games, Chief Cabinet Secretary
Katsunobu Kato announced at a news conference.
The move is aimed at strengthening measures against the highly contagious delta variant, first detected in India.