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“Haven’t Really Thought Much”: Serena Williams Reluctant to Play at Tokyo Olympics 2021

The four-time Olympic Gold medal winner Serena Williams is still unclear about her Tokyo Olympics 2021 participation. She revealed that the reason behind it is her three-year-old daughter Olympia.

Serena Williams with daughter Olympia
Serena Williams of the USA celebrates with daughter Alexis Olympia after winning the final match against Jessica Pegula of USA at ASB Tennis Centre in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Notably, the American has the record for joint-most number of Gold medals in tennis history; she shares the record with her sister Venus Williams. Serena has won one Gold in singles and three Gold medals in doubles.

Read More: “Don’t Always Show My Cards”: Serena Williams on Why She Doesn’t Reveal Much About Her Trainings on Social Media

Serena Williams opens up on her Tokyo Olympics 2021 participation

Currently, Serena Williams is in Rome, competing at the Italian Open 2021. In its pre-tournament press conference, a question about her Tokyo Olympics beat her.

The tennis queen realized then that she had not given the subject a lot of thought. Moreover, she explained that the protocols set for the tournament have made her reluctant to play this year.

In essence, the Tokyo Olympics 2021 will not allow family members of international visitors, including the athletes, as a safety protocol to contain any spread of the coronavirus outbreak. It means Serena will have to part ways with her daughter Olympia which she is not ready to do so just yet.

“I haven’t really thought much about that. That’s a really good question,” Serena said. “I haven’t spent 24 hours without her [Olympia], so that kind of answers the question itself. We’re best friends.”

However, the 23-time Grand Slam champion insisted afterwards that she needed to plan her schedule. Hence, the decision about her participation might come soon now.

“I have really been taking it one day at a time to a fault,” Serena continued, “and I definitely need to figure out my next moves.”

But for now, the American is laser-focused on her clay-court campaign, which begins at the Italian Open.

Read More: “Don’t Even Know Where I Am”: Serena Williams Jokes on Her Ranking Ahead of Italian Open 2021

Williams has eyes for 24th Grand Slam in Paris

Serena Williams will take on the court in Rome for the first time after her Australian Open 2021 semifinal loss against Naomi Osaka. Most significantly, she is thrilled to do well at the Italian Open.

Serena Williams
Serena Williams of The United States celebrates victory during her ladies singles first round match against Kurumi Nara of Japan during Day five of the 2019 French Open at Roland Garros in Paris, France. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

Additionally, the American also has her eyes fixed on the French Open title. Depending on her match preparations in Rome, she will look forward to outperforming others in Paris.

Inarguably, Serena is one of the biggest favorites in both tournaments. But she would love to win some titles, given her enthusiasm to return on court.

Do you think Serena Williams can pull off another Grand Slam glory before hanging her racquet?

WATCH: Serena Williams Masters the Art of Clay Court Slide Under Patrick Mouratoglou’s Supervision

The post “Haven’t Really Thought Much”: Serena Williams Reluctant to Play at Tokyo Olympics 2021 appeared first on EssentiallySports.