Serena Williams Confirms She Won't Participate in the Tokyo Olympics

Serena Williams confirmed that she won't be participating in the 2020 Summer Olympics, which will kick off in Tokyo on July 23, 2021 following a year's delay. The four-time Olympic gold medalist announced the news during a pre-Wimbledon press conference. "I'm actually not on the Olympic list—not that I'm aware of. If so, then I shouldn't be on it," Williams told reporters.

Williams has played in every summer Olympics since 2000. She and her sister, Venus Williams, won gold medals in women's doubles at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and the 2012 London Olympics. At the London games, Williams also picked up her first gold medal in women's singles (Venus has a gold in women's singles as well).

Given her performance at the Olympics for the past two decades, Williams's announcement is precedent-setting—but it's not a surprise. Due to COVID-related precautions, athletes are prohibited from bringing their families to the games. Japan also barred international spectators from attending the Olympics in another effort to mitigate the spread of the virus.

At the Italian Open in May, Williams indicated that she would not attend the Olympics if it meant being separated from her three-year-old daughter (and budding tennis pro), Olympia Ohanian. "I haven't spent 24 hours without her," she said at the time, per NBC, "so that kind of answers the question itself."

Other athletes have been vocal about not wanting to be separated from their children. Kim Gaucher, a Team Canada basketball player, feels torn between her Olympic dreams and motherhood. "Right now I'm being forced to decide between being a breastfeeding mom or an Olympic athlete. I can't have them both," Gaucher told CBC about her three-month-old daughter. "Tokyo has said no friends, no family, no exceptions."

Marathoner Aliphine Tuliamuk finds herself in the same position, and petitioned the organizers of the Tokyo Olympics to allow her four-month old baby to attend the Games. According to the Washington Post's reporting, Team USA is allotted about 600 spots total. If a child comes, then that means one fewer athlete, coach, or trainer could attend the Games.

However, when asked if Olympia figured into her reasoning at the pre-Wimbledon conference, Williams declined to confirm. "There’s a lot of reasons that I made my Olympic decision," Williams said, as the New York Times reports. "I don’t really want to...I don’t feel like going into them today. Maybe another day. Sorry."

Venus's presence at the Summer Games has not been confirmed, though she previously expressed interest in attending. "[If] I'm blessed enough to play again, that would be an amazing opportunity,” she told media in January of 2020, calling the Olympics a "highlight" in her career. The Olympics seem to have a similarly fond place in Williams's heart. "In the past it’s been a wonderful place for me," she said during the conference.

While her decision to skip the Olympics has made headlines around the world, Williams herself seems unbothered. "I really haven’t thought about it, so I’m going to keep not thinking about it," she said.

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