The 2028 Olympic tennis tournament in Los Angeles will begin three days after the Wimbledon men’s singles final.
This scheduling announcement has raised eyebrows in the tennis world.
Surely those who play matches in the second week of Wimbledon will be at a major disadvantage when they head over to the United States looking to win an Olympic medal.
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The quick turnaround may even persuade some players to sacrifice Wimbledon to prepare them for the Olympic Games.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner may have to choose between winning Olympic gold and another Wimbledon title
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are both two-time Wimbledon champions.
And they will likely enter the 2027 and 2028 Wimbledon tournaments as two of the favourites to lift the trophy.
However, neither player has won Olympic gold.
The Italian hasn’t even played at the Olympics, missing the 2024 Games due to illness, while Alcaraz lost to Novak Djokovic in the gold medal match.
To complete the ‘Career Golden Slam’ (Winning all four majors and Olympic gold), a feat accomplished by just three men: Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal, and Djokovic, Sinner and Alcaraz will need to win an Olympic title.
Carlos Alcaraz’s road to the Career Golden Slam
- Australian Open – Completed (2026)
- French Open – Completed (2024, 2025)
- Wimbledon – Completed (2023, 2024)
- US Open – Completed (2022, 2025)
- Olympics – Incomplete
Jannik Sinner’s road to the Career Golden Slam
- Australian Open – Completed (2024, 2025)
- French Open – Incomplete
- Wimbledon – Completed (2025, 2026)
- US Open – Completed (2024)
- Olympics – Incomplete
As the Olympics only come around every four years, they may only have three or four more opportunities to win a gold medal before they retire from tennis.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s gold medal opportunities
| Games | Carlos Alcaraz age | Jannik Sinner age |
| 2024 Paris, France | 21 (Silver medalist) | 22 |
| 2028 Los Angeles, USA | 25 | 26 |
| 2032 Brisbane, Australia | 29 | 30 |
| 2036 TBD | 33 | 34 |
| 2040 TBD | 37 | 38 |
So, with that being true, they will want to maximise their chances of taking gold in Los Angeles, during some of their prime years.
And to do that, the reality is that you can’t play seven matches at Wimbledon and win the title, days before beginning the Olympic tennis tournament.
Alcaraz and Sinner might be better off skipping Wimbledon altogether, heading to the United States earlier to acclimatise to the conditions.
Or, if they do choose to compete at the All England Club, you might not see the same commitment from the top players that you have come to expect from them at the Grand Slam events.
They shouldn’t be criticised if they do so, as they will have been forced into making a near-impossible decision by those who created the schedule.
This won’t just affect Alcaraz and Sinner, as the stars of women’s tennis will also have a decision to make.
Especially the American hopefuls, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, who won’t want to miss the once-in-a-lifetime chance to win Olympic gold on home soil.
It’s tough to predict exactly what will happen two years from now, but for the first time in a long time, Wimbledon may have some work to do to keep the biggest names in tennis coming to SW19.
How did the 2024 Olympics fit into the tennis schedule?
The 2024 Olympic Games were played on the clay courts of Roland Garros, after the French Open and Wimbledon finished.
Players were given plenty of time to rest between Wimbledon and the Olympics, as the first round of matches in Paris started 13 days after the men’s singles final at the All England Club.
There were, however, still some players who felt the turnaround was too quick.
American star Ben Shelton chose to skip the Olympics and played an ATP 250 event in Atlanta instead.
It’s fair to say the move backfired, as Shelton lost his opening match in Atlanta to China’s Juncheng Shang.
With a different schedule set for 2028, will we see players skip a Grand Slam to prepare for the Olympics in LA?
Only time will tell.
