Sam Stosur and Lleyton Hewitt will captain the Australian Olympic Tennis crew on the Paris 2024 Olympic Video games, with the tennis occasions to be staged at Roland Garros.
Paris, France, 24 July 2024 | Harriet Rendle
Sam Stosur and Lleyton Hewitt captain the Australian Olympic Tennis crew on the Paris 2024 Olympic Video games this week.
5-time Olympian Stosur, the one Australian tennis participant to symbolize the nation at 5 Video games, will lead the ladies’s crew alongside girls’s coach and two-time Olympian Nicole Pratt.
The 2011 US Open champion retired from skilled tennis final yr and was appointed Australia’s Billie Jean King Cup captain in December 2023.
“I by no means thought I’d be going to a different Olympics in any kind of capability. So, yeah, very excited to be heading to Paris and supporting all of the gamers,” mentioned Stosur, who competed at Tokyo 2020, Rio 2016, London 2012, Beijing 2008 and Athens 2004.
Stosur recalled her feelings strolling in a number of opening ceremonies and being a member of the broader Australian Olympic crew.
“Going out to a number of the opening ceremonies and strolling, by the tunnel with the higher Australian crew, the vitality and, , the sound and the noise. I’m getting goosebumps speaking about it,” she mentioned.
“I believe the opening ceremonies have been completely unimaginable, to have the ability to march and be a part of, and clearly the competing and every thing else.
“I believe simply feeling like you’re part of clearly the tennis crew, which is such a small a part of the higher Australian crew, it’s, , 400 athletes or one thing. It’s a extremely particular place to be in.”
Now as captain, Stosur shall be on the sidelines to help Australia’s girls, whereas encouraging them to get pleasure from Olympic Village life.
“Now to be on this place making an attempt to assist them by, to hopefully win medals and get probably the most, , out of themselves and the occasion, is a good place to be in. I believe I’ve obtained a lot of expertise to try to move on,” she mentioned.
“Particularly in the beginning if you first get there, it’s thrilling. It may be a bit chaotic. I believe typically you bought to sort of take all that in if you first arrive and kind of get it relaxed… Open your eyes, see every thing so you then really feel such as you’ve sort of skilled a variety of it after which you’ll be able to kind of get all the way down to enterprise.
“The wonderful thing about the tennis occasion is clearly someplace that every one the gamers are actually acquainted with enjoying at Roland Garros.”
Hewitt, who at age 19 made his first Olympic crew, represented Australia at three Olympics together with London 2012, Beijing 2008 and Sydney 2000.
Since 2016, the previous world No.1 and two-time Grand Slam singles champion has captained Australia’s Davis Cup crew.
Hewitt will lead the boys’s crew alongside coach Jaymon Crabb.
“First time really going as a captain within the Olympic format,” Hewitt mentioned. “I used to be lucky sufficient to play in three Olympic Video games as nicely. So I’m very honored to get this chance and clearly assist the blokes each time they placed on the inexperienced and gold.
“I used to be very lucky and I used to be in a position to get in to Sydney, clearly our house video games, my first one in 2000. I used to be lucky sufficient to share a room with Pat Rafter. He was like an older brother to me, and he was a man that I idolised and appeared as much as for therefore a few years, as an Australian tennis participant and obtained to world No.1, gained Grand Slams and to be alongside him, and sort of hang around with him through the Sydney Olympics was fairly particular.
“I believe one of many different actual particular ones was attending to play at Wimbledon, the All England Membership within the London Olympics Video games. That was actually one thing particular to play an Olympic Video games on a special floor as nicely.”
Like Stosur, Hewitt shall be encouraging the boys’s crew to embrace the Olympic expertise as a lot as potential.
“There’s lots happening… And there’s various distractions. So I believe if you first get within the village, it’s making an attempt to get pleasure from it as a lot as potential. I do know the Australian crew, as an entire, with each sport is a really close-knit crew as nicely.
“Whenever you’re two or three days out from really having to go on the market and play, it’s time to actually begin specializing in what you must do to get your preparation proper.
“Clearly that is fairly particular, attending to play at one other Grand Slam location in Roland Garros in Paris.”
Hewitt believes the Olympics play a extremely vital function on the tennis tour.
“It’s unbelievably vital. And I believe coming from a rustic like Australia as nicely, we’re a really sporting nation. We’ve had a lot success within the Olympic Video games over so a few years, and we’re spoiled within the sport of tennis,” he mentioned.
“We get the chance to play at these unbelievable venues all year long, however particularly the 4 Grand Slams. A few of these different smaller sports activities… they get this chance to play within the Olympics as soon as in each 4 years for them. That is what they work in the direction of.
“In a way, it’s a little bit completely different to tennis. However you simply see the blokes which can be enjoying and the way a lot they wish to one get a medal, however clearly particularly to get the gold medal.”
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