Top Tennis Players Seek 2028 Calendar Change Before Los Angeles Olympics

Leading tennis players have called for changes to the 2028 calendar because the Los Angeles Olympics tournament is scheduled to begin three days after Wimbledon ends. The Guardian reported that Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Daniil Medvedev and Iga Swiatek have all raised concerns about the short turnaround and its implications for players competing deep into the grass-court major.

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LA28 announced last month that its Olympic tennis competition will run from 19 to 28 July 2028. The Wimbledon men's final is scheduled for 16 July, leaving finalists little time to travel between continents and prepare for a change of surface. Wimbledon is played on grass, while the Los Angeles event will be contested on hard courts.

Sabalenka said officials should consider opening space in the calendar. She pointed to the Olympics' importance as an event held once every four years and said players should receive at least a week between the tournaments. Her concern centered on the physical stress created by moving so quickly from the Wimbledon final to Olympic competition.

Rybakina also expressed hope that the dates could be adjusted, noting that dates had been moved at the beginning of the current year. Medvedev said he had not known about the three-day gap before being asked, but supported efforts to extend it. He suggested six or seven days would be an improvement, even if that interval would still present difficulties.

The 2028 turnaround is substantially shorter than the gap before the Paris Olympics in 2024. That tennis event began 13 days after Wimbledon finished. Olympic tennis already sits in a demanding part of the season, positioned between Wimbledon and the North American hard-court swing, but the announced Los Angeles schedule compresses the transition further.

Swiatek placed the 2028 issue within her broader concerns about player welfare and tournament scheduling. She said she had discussed the intensity of the calendar for years and that more players are now voicing similar concerns. She highlighted the particular challenge for anyone who reaches the Wimbledon final and must then travel to the other side of the world to compete on hard courts. No revised dates were reported, so the announced 19-28 July Olympic window remains in place while players press for an adjustment.