Tomic 'too busy' to represent Australia in Rio

Tomic and Nick Kyrgios were warned by Australia's Olympic chef de mission Kitty Chiller at the weekend that they were among a group of athletes whose behaviour was being monitored to judge their suitability for the Rio team.

Tomic 'too busy' to represent Australia in Rio

(Reuters)





"With a heavy sense of regret, I have made the difficult decision to not play with the Australian tennis team as they pursue an Olympic medal in Rio," Tomic said in a statement.

"I have always proudly represented my country in Davis Cup and given my all when wearing the green and gold.

"But on the basis of my extremely busy playing schedule and my own personal circumstances, I am regrettably unable to commit to this year's tournament."

The 23-year-old had been heavily criticised following his exit from the Madrid Open when, on match point against Fabio Fognini, he held the racquet by the strings and did not offer a shot to the Italian's serve.

Tomic responded to the criticism by telling News Corp., "I don't care about that match point. Would you care if you were 23 and worth over $10 million?"

Chiller, who described the response as "appalling", said on Friday Australia would not twist anyone's arm to go to Rio.

"It's his choice. We don't force anyone to take part in the Olympic Games," Chiller told reporters on the Gold Coast. "We only want people in our team who want to be there and prepared to abide by what that team means."

Chiller added that Kyrgios was still treading a fine line as to whether he would be selected to the team.

Earlier this week, the 21-year-old player said of the warning: "If you don't want two of the best players in Australia to represent your country, so be it."

Chiller said earning a spot on the Australian team was about more than just results.

"It's not just about winning on the court, it is how you go about it," Chiller said. "Thousands of Australians would give anything, devote their whole lives to be at an Olympics and adhere to what that means.

"If someone doesn't see the value in that, then that's their loss."





(Writing by Peter Rutherford and Greg Stutchbury; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world