Serbia's Novak Djokovic says he is "50-50" about competing at the Tokyo Olympics later this month following the organisers' decision to ban fans from attending and the restrictions on the number of people he can take to the Games.
Officials said last week the Games would take place without spectators in Tokyo as a surge in COVID-19 cases forced Japan to declare a state of emergency in the capital city that will last throughout the multi-sport event which starts on July 23.
"I'll have to think about it," Djokovic says.
"My plan was always to go to Olympic Games.
"But right now I'm a little bit divided. It's kind of 50-50 because of what I heard in the last couple days."
Djokovic completed the third leg towards achieving the Golden Slam in tennis on Monday (NZ time) when he added the Wimbledon title to his Australian Open and Roland Garros triumphs in 2021.
No man has ever won the four slams and Olympic gold in the same year and considering this is the first time in his career that Djokovic has won the season's opening three majors, he may never get another opportunity to complete the Golden Slam if he opts out of the Games like many of his rivals.
Some of the sport's biggest names, including Rafa Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka, Nick Kyrgios, Serena Williams and Simona Halep have already announced their decision to skip the Games, which has been delayed by a year due to the pandemic.
Djokovic says he was "really disappointed" to hear that the events in Tokyo will be played without any spectators present.
"I also hear that there's going to be a lot of restrictions within the [Games] village," the 20-time major winner ad.
"Possibly you would not be able to see other athletes perform live. I can't even have my stringer that is very important part of my team. I'm limited with the amount of people I can take in my team as well."
Reuters
