John Isner, the top-ranked U.S. men’s tennis player, said he will skip the Rio Olympics, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“It’s a decision I didn’t take lightly,” Isner said, according to the report.
Isner, a Georgia native, is reportedly opting out for a few reasons, including because he has designs on playing at an ATP tournament in Atlanta that wraps up the weekend that the Olympic singles tournament begins.
“Logistically, it would be pretty much impossible for me to do both,” Isner said, according to the report.
Isner, ranked No. 16 in the world, lost to Roger Federer in the London 2012 quarterfinals, his Olympic debut.
It’s the third straight Olympic year that the top-ranked American man announced months before the Games that he would skip the Games to play a domestic ATP tournament.
In 2012, Mardy Fish was the top-ranked U.S. man at No. 9 when it was first reported that he would skip the Olympics to play an ATP event in Washington, D.C., during the London Games.
In 2008, Andy Roddick was the top-ranked U.S. man at No. 6 when it was first reported that he would skip the Olympics, also to play in the concurrent Washington tournament.
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