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Australian tennis star Kyrgios pulls out of Tokyo Olympics citing empty stadiums, injury

Britain Wimbledon Tennis
Posted at 4:43 PM, Jul 09, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-09 16:43:00-04

Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios announced he's pulled out of the Tokyo Olympics.

The 26-year-old said on Twitter that one of the main factors of his withdrawal was because playing in an empty stadium "doesn't sit right with me."

"It's a decision I didn't make lightly," Kyrgios said in a statement posted to his Twitter account. "It's been my dream to represent Australia at the Olympics and I know I may never get that opportunity again. But I also know myself. The thought of playing in front of empty stadiums just doesn't sit right with me. It never has."

He added that he wanted to get his body right and didn't want to take away "from a healthy Aussie athlete" to represent the country.

According to ESPN, Kyrgios is suffering from an abdominal injury.

This comes after Olympic organizers announced on Thursday that venues in Tokyo would not host spectators after the city declared a state of emergency.