Alex de Minaur has quickly become one of the most recognisable faces in Australian Tennis.
At 25 years old, the Sydney local has amassed over nine titles and a career-high world ranking of six – but a mid-game injury during his fourth-round win over Arthur Fils at Wimbledon could put his Olympic dreams in jeopardy.
The injury, which was later confirmed to be a cartilage tear in his hip, saw de Minaur forfeit the Wimbledon quarter-final against Novak Djokovic in mid-July – just weeks before he was set to head to Paris for the Olympic Games.
Despite initially confirming he would be taking part in the Paris Olympics, the young tennis star has now confirmed he has withdrawn from the men’s singles.
Just hours before he was set to take the court for his first-round match against Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff, the Australian Olympic team confirmed his withdrawal.
“Alex de Minaur has withdrawn from men’s singles at #Paris2024,” they announced in a statement. “De Minaur has been rehabbing a hip injury he sustained during the fourth round at Wimbledon. He has tried to do everything possible to get himself ready to play singles at the Olympics.”
“Tried my best to be ready for the singles but body needs a bit more time,” the Aussie said in an Instagram story of his own.
Whilst it may be a setback to his Olympic dreams, he’s still set to join the Australian team in their campaign for gold, confirming that he was prioritising his upcoming men’s doubles campaign alongside his childhood friend, Alexei Popyrin.
The latest setback came just days after de Minaur confirmed he would be joining the Australian team for their Olympic campaign.
Taking to social media, the athlete confirmed he was ready to compete again, telling fans it was a “dream come true.”
“To finally be able to represent Australia in the Olympics is a dream come true,” De Minaur said. “I’m very passionate when I play for my country and wear the green and gold, so this is another one of those moments.
“I’m extremely excited to lace up for Paris 2024.”
De Minaur joins an Australian team that also includes Alexei Popyrin, Ellen Perez, Matthew Ebden, John Peers, Olivia Gadecki, Ajla Tomljanovic, Daria Saville and Rinky Hijikata.
It’s been a bumpy road to the Olympics for the Aussie athlete, who previously was unable to play at the Tokyo Olympic games after contracting COVID-19, but De Minaur is confident in his ability to perform well on the global stage.
“I showed that I’m perfectly capable,” he said at the end of his French Open campaign. “The Olympics will be best-of-three sets. There’s no reason why I can’t put on a good showing, perform and win matches.”
