Serbia’s Novak Djokovic smiles as he leaves the court after winning his men’s first round match against Taiwan’s Lu Yen-Hsun at the Roland Garros 2016 French Tennis Open in Paris on May 24, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE LOPEZ
PARIS — Novak Djokovic would like to see tennis players at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics get ranking points from the ATP and WTA tours, the way they have at past Summer Games.
“To be quite frank, I don’t see a reason why not,” the No. 1-ranked Djokovic said Tuesday after winning his first-round match at the French Open. “You know, we have the best players in the world participating in, arguably, the fifth Grand Slam. It’s of that importance for all of us — even more, because it (only) happens every four years.”
Djokovic owns 11 Grand Slam titles and earned a bronze medal for Serbia in singles at the 2008 Beijing Games. He finished fourth at the 2012 London Games.
International Tennis Federation spokesman Nick Imison said the governing body, which oversees the sport’s participation in the Summer Games, “believes that players are honored to play the Olympics, and that for the majority of players, ranking points are not a consideration for their participation.”
Djokovic called the topic “a subject for discussion,” adding: “I would definitely encourage people to rethink … getting points out there.”