Andy Roddick calls out “dumb” Olympics for playing out doubles players as alternate in singles

Earlier, Djokovic also voiced his displeasure at the Olympics rule and called for it to be changed.

Andy Roddick calls out “dumb” Olympics for playing out doubles players as alternate in singles

Andy Roddick (Via Imago)

Andy Roddick has slammed the Olympics for making doubles players play as the alternates in singles amidst a list of withdrawals from the Paris Games. The tennis event in Paris has seen an unprecedented number of players withdrawing, especially from the men’s singles event.

On Sunday (July 28), Cameron Norrie and Australia’s Alex de Minaur withdrew from the singles event. Earlier, World No.1 Jannik Sinner and Hubert Hurkacz had withdrawn before the opening ceremony. In the women’s tennis, Elena Rybakina pulled out hours before the draw while Anhelina Kalinina pulled out earlier on Sunday.

The volume of withdrawals forced several doubles players to feature in the singles, as the Olympics do not allow for another entry for a country after it has submitted its list of players. This has seen unranked singles players such as Matthew Ebden, Petros Tsitsipas, and Fransisco Cabral make their way into the singles draw.

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With no proper training or good experience, these doubles specialists have made the singles draw less competitive. This has prompted former World No. 1 Roddick to ridicule the Olympics’ rules.

The Olympics singles alternate situation is ridiculous. Players that don’t even/can't play singles at the highest level getting the call is dumb.
Andy Roddick said on X (formerly known as Twitter)

The Olympic organizers will hope that no further singles players withdraw from the tennis tournament, as that will further decimate the interest of tennis fans in the event.

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Novak Djokovic nudges the ITF to change the Olympics’ alternate rule after beating doubles specialist in 59 minutes

Novak Djokovic has urged the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to change the rules on allowing doubles players as alternates in singles draw. He made the statement after beating doubles specialist Matthew Ebden 6-0, 6-1 in 59 minutes on Saturday.

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic (Via Imago)

The 37-year-old pointed out that other singles players should be added to the event after a player has withdrawn.

There were a lot of singles players that had plenty of time, that were alternates, that could have been called to come. I really hope the ITF (International Tennis Federation) along with the Olympics will consider changing this rule.
Novak Djokovic said (via Tennis365)

Meanwhile, Djokovic will play Rafael Nadal in the second round of the singles after the Spaniard defeated Marton Fucsovics in three sets on Sunday. It will be the pair’s first meeting since the 2022 Roland Garros quarterfinals, which the Spaniard won en route to clinching the title.

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