Sam Stosur and Lleyton Hewitt will captain the Australian Olympic Tennis staff 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 staff 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 staff alongside girls’s coach and two-time Olympian Nicole Pratt.
The 2001 US Open champion retired from skilled tennis final 12 months 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 staff.
“Going out to among the opening ceremonies and strolling, via the tunnel with the higher Australian staff, the vitality and, you realize, 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 the whole lot else.
“I believe simply feeling like you’re part of clearly the tennis staff, which is such a small a part of the higher Australian staff, it’s, you realize, 400 athletes or one thing. It’s a very particular place to be in.”
Now as captain, Stosur will likely be on the sidelines to assist Australia’s girls, whereas encouraging them to take pleasure in Olympic Village life.
“Now to be on this place attempting to assist them via, to hopefully win medals and get probably the most, you realize, out of themselves and the occasion, is a superb place to be in. I believe I’ve bought a number of expertise to try to go on,” she mentioned.
“Particularly at first once 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 once you first arrive and kind of get it relaxed… Open your eyes, see the whole lot so you then really feel such as you’ve sort of skilled numerous it after which you possibly can kind of get all the way down to enterprise.
“The beauty of the tennis occasion is clearly someplace that every one the gamers are actually conversant in taking part in at Roland Garros.”
Hewitt, who at age 19 made his first Olympic staff, 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 staff.
Hewitt will lead the lads’s staff alongside coach Jaymon Crabb.
“First time truly going as a captain within the Olympic format,” Hewitt mentioned. “I used to be lucky sufficient to play in three Olympic Video games as effectively. So I’m very honored to get this chance and clearly assist the fellows 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 dwelling 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 seemed as much as for therefore a few years, as an Australian tennis participant and bought to world No.1, gained Grand Slams and to be alongside him, and sort of hang around with him in the course of 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 distinct floor as effectively.”
Like Stosur, Hewitt will likely be encouraging the lads’s staff to embrace the Olympic expertise as a lot as potential.
“There’s loads happening… And there’s various distractions. So I believe once you first get within the village, it’s attempting to take pleasure in it as a lot as potential. I do know the Australian staff, as an entire, with each sport is a really close-knit staff as effectively.
“If you’re two or three days out from truly having to go on the market and play, it’s time to actually begin specializing in what it’s important to 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 very essential position on the tennis tour.
“It’s unbelievably essential. And I believe coming from a rustic like Australia as effectively, 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 direction of.
“In a way, it’s a little bit completely different to tennis. However you simply see the fellows which are taking part in and the way a lot they wish to one get a medal, however clearly particularly to get the gold medal.”