Serena Williams says she will not play in Tokyo Olympics

Serena Williams said she will not go to the Tokyo Olympics, but did not want to say why during a prewimbledon video conference with reporters Sunday.“i’m actually not on the Olympic list . ... Not that I’m aware of. If so, then I shouldn’t be on it,”williams said. The 39-yearold has won four gold medals at past Summer Games for the United States.

“There’s a lot of reasons that I made my Olympic decision,” Williams said the day before the start of main-draw action at Wimbledon, where she’ll try for a 24th Grand Slam singles title. “I don’t feel like going into them today. Maybe another day. Sorry.”

U.S. Tennis Association spokesman Chris Widmaier wrote in an email: “The decision to participate in the Games is an individual one, and as we emerge from the pandemic, we recognize and respect the personal decisions made by our top athletes regarding participation in the Tokyo Games. Although we fully support the IOC and the (International Tennis Federation), and have encouraged our athletes to participate, we recognize the fact that in this unique time, some athletes may choose not to participate for personal reasons.”

Other top players (Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem) have said they’ll skip the trip to Japan, where the Olympics open July 23 after a one-year pandemic delay. Roger Federer said he hasn’t decided whether to participate and will figure that out after he sees how things go at Wimbledon.

Three-time Grand Slam semifinalist Johanna Konta of Britain was dropped from Wimbledon on Sunday after a member of her team tested positive for COVID-19.