Taiwan’s chance to win a medal in tennis at the Tokyo Olympic Games suffered a major blow after women’s doubles world No. 1 Hsieh Su-wei was ruled ineligible for the Games by the sport’s governing body.
The 34-year-old Hsieh announced in a Facebook post that the International Tennis Federation (ITF) had rejected her appeal to gain eligibility for next year’s COVID-19-delayed Olympics.
Hsieh said that even though her ranking qualified her for the Games, she was deemed ineligible due to “a mistake involving the Fed Cup” held in March.
Photo: AFP
Hsieh is ranked No. 66 in women’s singles and No. 1 in women’s doubles. Players ranked among the top 56 in singles and top 10 in doubles are eligible to compete at the Tokyo Olympics.
Although ranked outside the top 56 in singles, Hsieh’s ranking would have been enough to gain her entry into the singles draw, as no more than four players from the same country can qualify.
However, a player must take part in at least two Fed Cup events during the Olympic cycle.
Hsieh was to represent Taiwan in the Fed Cup in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in early March, but she ended up leaving without playing a match.
Defending her decision to leave, Hsieh wrote in her Facebook post that she had informed her coach before the competition that she would not be able to complete the tournament.
That decision and her withdrawal from the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro after a blowup with a tennis official weighed heavily in the ITF’s decision.
In a letter sent to the Chinese Taipei Tennis Association (CTTA) on Oct. 14 — made public by Hsieh on Facebook — the ITF said that it deemed Hsieh ineligible for the Tokyo Games because she did not demonstrate sufficient commitment to competitions.
The letter specifically cited her absence from the Fed Cup and that she did not compete in the 2016 Olympic Games.
The ITF said that Hsieh had withdrawn on the morning of the first day of play in the Rio Games without providing sufficient information to justify her withdrawal.
Hsieh has had 10 career Fed Cup nominations and one Olympic appearance, according to ITF records.
Hsieh said that she pulled out from the singles and doubles in Rio after a heated argument with a Taiwanese delegation official, but she chose not to tell the ITF to avoid airing dirty laundry in public.
The Taiwanese tennis ace in August announced that she would not compete again this year citing an ankle injury and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hsieh’s highest ranking in the singles was No. 23 on Feb. 25, 2013.
In winning the 2013 Wimbledon women’s doubles title with Chinese partner Peng Shuai, she became the first player from Taiwan to win a Grand Slam of any kind.
She has three career Grand Slam doubles titles.
HOMETOWN ZERO: Fans relished the fall of former Brewer-turned-Cubs manager Craig Counsell, as Milwaukee braces to face the Dodgers, who in 2018 denied them a pennant Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy has referred to his team as the “Average Joes,” a nod to their small-market status and lack of big names, but after they beat rivals the Chicago Cubs 3-1 in the decisive fifth game of their National League Division Series (NLDS) on Saturday night, Murphy decided it was time for an upgrade. “You can call them the average Joes, but I say they’re the above-average Joes,” he said. The Brewers relied on contributions from just about every player to get past the Cubs. Andrew Vaughn hit a tiebreaking homer in the fourth inning, and William Contreras and Brice
Mexico’s teenage playmaker Gilberto Mora has lit up the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile as he basks in the limelight afforded by the absences of Barcelona and Real Madrid stars Lamine Yamal and Franco Mastantuono. “I don’t know if I’m the biggest star, and I’m not really interested in that. I think you can always give more,” 16-year-old Mora said before Mexico’s 4-1 win against host nation Chile in the round-of-16 on Tuesday, in which he provided the assist for the opening goal. Next on Mora’s schedule is a quarter-final clash against Argentina this morning Taiwan time, but after
‘SOMETHING SPECIAL’: Nathan Lukes hit a two-run single and Addison Barger had three of Toronto’s 12 hits as the Blue Jays bounced back After taking down the storied New York Yankees in their own ballpark in their American League Division Series on Wednesday, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider was ready to revel in the triumph. “Start spreading the news,” Schneider said while popping a bottle of bubbly to set off the Blue Jays’ jubilant celebration inside their Yankee Stadium clubhouse. With the party under way, the familiar lyrics from Frank Sinatra’s version of New York, New York — the Yankees’ long-time victory anthem — sounded in the background as roaring Toronto players sprayed each other with booze in the Bronx. This time, it was their
‘IT’S BASEBALL’: In just the second error to end a post-season series in the MLB, the Phillies reliever fumbled a comebacker and threw to home, despite the signal Eyes red, Orion Kerkering on Thursday received words of support from his Philadelphia Phillies teammates. “Just keep your head up. It’s an honest mistake. Just, it’s baseball,” he remembered hearing. “You’ll be good for a long time to come,” they added. “It’s not my fault, then. We had opportunities to score,” was the message he kept getting. Kerkering made a wild throw past home plate instead of tossing to first after mishandling Andy Pages’ bases-loaded comebacker with two outs in the 11th inning. Pinch-runner Kim Hye-seong scored and the Phillies were eliminated with a 2-1 loss that gave the Los Angeles Dodgers a
RSS