Tokyo 2021 • Federer Joins Growing List of Players Not Certain About Olympic Tennis

Roger Federer is undecided on playing the Tokyo Olympics, with less than two weeks until the qualifying cutoff and less than two months until the Opening Ceremony.

Federer joined Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams, who said earlier this month that they had not decided whether to play in Tokyo. Novak Djokovic repeated Monday that he plans to play, but if it’s decided there will be no spectators, he may change his mind.

“I don’t know, I feel two ways. I would love to play,” Federer said of attending Tokyo. “I wish things were better around the world that we wouldn’t even have to debate the thought of is it going to happen, am I going to play or not. My wish and hope and dream is that I can play it. But it needs to make sense for me, my team, my family, my country.

“I’m still waiting to see how things are going to develop the next couple of weeks and month.”

Djokovic, who met the press in Paris for the first time today, is excited to play, but that could change if fans cannot attend.

Foreign visitors have already been banned from this summer’s Games and organizers are expected to make a decision next month on whether local fans will be able to attend, which is set to run between July 23 and August 8.

“I’m planning to play Olympic Games for now,” Djokovic said. “As I heard, there’s going to be some crowd, local crowd from Japan only. As I understand, 20%, 30% of the capacity.

“If they change something, if there’s not going to be any crowd, then I’ll consider if I want to go or not. Right now I am planning to go, and I’m very excited about that.”

The Olympic tennis event begins in Tokyo on July 24.