China’s number one tennis player Wang Qiang announced that she will skip this year’s Wimbledon in order to focus on preparing for the Tokyo Olympics . The 29-year-old made the surprise announcement on Saturday, two days after she was dumped out of the ongoing French Open in the second round by 17-year-old Coco Gauff. It was her second defeat to the American in a month following her straight sets loss in the final of the Emilia-Romagna Open in May. This year’s Wimbledon will go ahead from June 28 and finishes on July 11, 13 days before the start of the Tokyo Games. The 2020 edition of the grass-court grand slam was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Coco Gauff beats Wang Qiang to end Chinese interest in singles “After considering the pandemic quarantine protocols and the Chinese national team’s schedule, I’m sorry to announce that I have decided to withdraw from the remainder of the grass season, including Wimbledon, and to return to China to prepare for the Tokyo Olympic Games with the rest of the national team,” Wang posted on social media. “Representing my country at the Olympic Games is the highest honour,” she added. China’s Wang Qiang loses to Coco Gauff to miss out on first clay title in Parma China sent four women’s players to the Rio Games in 2016. Only two made it past the first round before being eliminated. Wang was defeated by Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round.
