Naomi Osaka says she would be happy to quarantine for two weeks to play in the Olympics, but was wary that concerns remain among her compatriots about the safety of quarantining thousands of athletes and staff for the event; Rafael Nadal casts doubt on his participation in Tokyo
Tuesday 20 July 2021 11:00, UK
Naomi Osaka says she would be willing to undergo two more weeks of quarantine to play at the Tokyo Olympics.
Two days after completing 14 days of isolation in Adelaide ahead of the Australian Open, the US Open champion said she would be prepared to do it all again to play in the Olympics on home soil this summer.
Amid speculation that the Games could be cancelled due to the pandemic, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said that Japan remained determined to stage the Olympics.
Although plans are changing daily, Tokyo organisers are not currently considering wholesale quarantine for the 11,000 athletes taking part in the Games.
"The way that I feel is I will stay in my room for two weeks to play the Olympics," the 23-year-old said.
"I missed out on the last one. Playing in Tokyo would be very special to me. My concern would be the general safety of everyone else because you're opening the country.
"Everyone is flying in from different places. I would just want the public to feel safe. I feel like the athletes definitely would want to play, but I would want the public to feel safe."
The US Open was played without fans and Osaka said while she was delighted that there will be fans in attendance when the year's first Grand Slam starts on February 8, it did have a downside.
"I think I get distracted by the crowd sometimes because I want to show off a little bit, so I do some crazy shots," she said.
"(But) I would say I definitely love having a crowd watching. I feel like you sort of interact with them. Sometimes they shout things and it makes you laugh."
Petra Kvitova considers the Olympics as the "fifth Grand Slam" and hopes it goes ahead as scheduled this year, defying the COVID-19 pandemic.
"First of all, I hope that the Olympics really will happen," two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova said
"I know that tennis players are a little bit different because we have our peaks during the year, we have four of them.
"For me Olympic Games are very important, it's like a fifth Grand Slam. I really wanted to be part of it this year."
Rafael Nadal has cast doubt on tennis events at the rescheduled Olympics though, saying it will be tough for players to take part if they have to self-isolate for up to 15 days in Japan prior to the games.
"If the Olympics are going to happen or not or if we have to quarantine before the Olympics for 15 days or not - seems from a sports perspective very difficult, because it's difficult for us. Combining our tour with another 15 days of quarantine to play (in the) Olympics looks difficult to fix it in our calendar," said the world No 2.
"But as I said, we're going to what the people who know about viruses and who know about protecting people in every single country, we're going to just follow their instructions."
Some 25,000-30,000 fans will be admitted to Melbourne Park on each day of the Grand Slam.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic got a taste of what was to come when he played an exhibition match in Adelaide after coming out of quarantine on Friday and now he can't wait to wow the fans in the stands at his 17th Australian Open.
"I had goosebumps coming into the court playing in front of the fans again after 12 months of not experiencing that," he said.
"After playing professional tennis for more than 15 years, this is one of the biggest driving forces or motivations, inspirations that I have, playing in front of a crowd."
He added: "Feeding off that energy, exchanging that great passion and joy that I have for the sport and the fans have for the sport.
"I'm grateful, as I think most of us that are here in Australia, that we have an opportunity to practice and to play and to compete in the sport that we love. So we are all excited to be here."
The 33-year-old has won eight of his 17 Grand Slam titles at Melbourne Park and said it felt like a homecoming returning at the start of each year.
"It does feel like a home for me in Australia, in Melbourne, particularly in Rod Laver (Arena). That is by far my most successful tennis court in my career," he added.
"Each year that I come back to the court, it feels even better. The more you win on the court, the more confident you feel coming back to it."
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