MOSCOW — Anna Kournikova has turned down the chance to play for Russia at the Sydney Olympic Games, the country’s tennis chief said on Monday.

‘She said it didn’t fit into her schedule,’ the president of the Russian tennis federation, Shamil Tarpishchev, told Reuters. ‘We had a spot open for her but she turned it down.’

Kournikova, who resides permanently in the United States, has refused to play for her native country on several occasions in the past three years but changed her mind to compete in a Fed Cup tournament in April.

However, she had a dismal showing in Moscow and was whistled off the court by a home crowd after losing all but one of her six singles and doubles matches.

The 19-year-old Kournikova, currently ranked 18 in the world, is the top Russian player on the WTA Tour.

Tarpishchev, who also serves as Russia’s Davis Cup and Fed Cup captain, said Kournikova’s reasons were similar to Martina Hingis’s recent decision against playing in Sydney.

‘Well, it was more of the same story, she [Kournikova] said the Olympics were too close to the US Open and she didn’t want to risk any injuries,’ he said. ‘Besides, playing in Sydney, she said, wouldn’t give her any points in the WTA ranking.’

Tarpishchev said he had chosen Elena Likhovtseva, Elena Dementieva and Anastasia Myskina to play singles in Sydney while Likhovtseva would team up with Myskina in doubles.

On the men’s side, it would be a familiar Russian Davis Cup duo of former world number one Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin playing both singles and doubles.

Reuters

Source: SOCOG