Alex de Minaur has pulled out of the singles draw at the Olympic Games after failing to recover in time from injury. 

De Minaur, who was the fifth seed in the draw, had been in a race against time to be fit for the event after suffering a freak injury at Wimbledon. At the All England Club, he tore the fiber cartilage in his hip region and subsequently had to withdraw from his quarter-final clash against Novak Djokovic. At the time of the announcement, it was estimated that he would be sidelined from the Tour for three to six weeks. 

Despite making progress in his recovery, the 25-year-old is still not fit enough to play singles and will now switch his focus to the doubles tournament where he will be playing alongside Alexi Popyrin.

“Tried my best to be ready for the singles but my body needs a bit more time,” de Minaur wrote on Instagram. 

“Looking forward to the doubles with Alexi Popyrin,” he added. 

The withdrawal comes three years after the Australian missed out on playing at the Tokyo Games after testing positive for COVID-19. This year is the first time he is playing in the event.

“He has tried to do everything possible to get himself ready to play singles at the Olympics,” an Australian Olympic Committee spokesperson commented on Sunday.

There is yet to be any official confirmation on who will be replacing de Minaur in the singles draw. Whoever is selected will play Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff. 

De Minaur and Popyrin will play fourth seeds Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram in their first match.

Holger Rune will have a second medical opinion on Monday before deciding if he is fit enough to play at the Olympic Games, according to his team. 

The Danish world No.17 recently retired from his quarter-final match at the Hamburg Open due to a knee injury. The hope at the time was that his withdrawal would be just a precautionary measure ahead of the Olympics. However, he is also dealing with a second issue that appears to be more serious.

According to TV 2 Sport, Rune has been struggling with a wrist issue and underwent a scan on Sunday which his mother Aneke says ‘doesn’t look promising.’ Aneke is also the manager of her son’s career. Rune’s Olympic dreams now rest on the outcome of a second medical expert that he will visit tomorrow who has a better understanding of the sport. 

“Unfortunately, it does not look promising after the first medical opinion after the review of the scan of the wrist,” Aneke Rune told TV 2 Sport.

“We are waiting for two tennis-specific doctors who will give a second opinion tomorrow (Monday). Tennis wrists look different from regular wrists, so we’ll hold out hope for one more day.” 

Rune is one of three Danish players entered into the Olympic tennis event along with Caroline Wozniacki and Clara Tauson. The country has only won one medal in tennis before which was at the 1912 Games when Sofie Castenschiold won silver in the women’s indoor singles event. 

So far this season, the 21-year-old has won 27 matches on the Tour but is yet to claim a title. He reached the final of the Brisbane International and then the semi-finals of three more events. In the Grand Slams, he made it to the fourth round of the French Open and Wimbledon. 

It is not known when a final decision regarding Rune’s participation in Paris will be made.

Poland’s top player on the ATP Tour is not giving up on his dream of winning a medal at the Olympic Games despite recently undergoing a medical procedure.

World No.7 Hubert Hurkacz suffered a knee injury during his second round clash at Wimbledon against France’s Arthur Fils. In the fourth set tiebreak of their clash, Hurkacz dived for a shot but landed badly on his knee and required on-court medical attention. He then played two more points before retiring from the match. 

In a social media post published on Wednesday, the  27-year-old confirmed he underwent a procedure on his knee earlier this week but didn’t provide any further details.  Although Hurkacz has stated his intention to play at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris, where the tennis event will be held on the clay at Roland Garros. 

“I had a knee procedure this Monday, but I’m feeling better already and my team and are dedicating extensive time each day to the rehab process.” He wrote on Instagram. 

“It’s a dream for every athlete to represent their country at the Olympics, and I want to make sure I am fully fit and ready before making the final decision to step on court. The aim is not only to participate, but to win a medal for my country.”

So far this season Hurkacz has won 34 out of 48 matches played on the Tour. He won the Estoril Open in April and was runner-up to Jannik Sinner in Halle. 

The Olympic tennis event is scheduled to begin a week Saturday on July 27th. Poland is yet to win a medal in the event but expectations are high with women’s No.1 Iga Swiatek also taking part.