World No. 1 Jannik Sinner Out of Paris Olympics

Madison Williams | Jul 24, 2024

Jul 9, 2024; London, United Kingdom; Jannik Sinner (ITA) reacts after winning a point against Daniil Medvedev (not pictured) in a gentlemen's singles quarter-final match on day nine of The Championships Wimbledon 2024 at The All England Lawn Tennis Club. / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

World men's No. 1 Jannik Sinner announced on Wednesday that he will miss the 2024 Paris Olympics because of an illness.

The Italian wrote an emotional post on social media, expressing how difficult of a decision it was to drop out of the Olympics. This would've been the 22-year-old's first Games.

"I am saddened to inform you that unfortunately I will not be able to participate in the Paris Olympic Games," Sinner wrote. "After a good week of clay training I started to feel unwell. I spent a couple of days resting and during a visit the doctor found tonsillitis and strongly advised me against playing. Missing the Games is a huge disappointment as it was one of my main goals for this season. I couldn't wait to have the honor of representing my country in this very important event. Good luck to all the Italian athletes who I will support from home."

Sono amareggiato di informarvi che purtroppo non potrò partecipare ai Giochi Olimpici di Parigi.

Dopo una buona settimana di allenamento sulla terra ho cominciato a non sentirmi bene. Ho trascorso un paio di giorni a riposo ed in visita il medico ha riscontrato una tonsillite e… pic.twitter.com/Qrx8TJLoMA

— Jannik Sinner (@janniksin) July 24, 2024

Sinner's had quite the 2024 season. He won his first major title in January at the Australian Open, then he was named World No. 1 back in June.

With Sinner out of the draw, Serbian Novak Djokovic now is the highest ranked men's player competing in the Olympics. Djokovic has only won one Olympic medal in his career, and it came back in 2008 when he captured the bronze.

The Olympic tennis tournament begins on Saturday, July 27 at Roland Garros and runs through Sunday, August 4.