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U.S. tennis star Serena Williams to skip Summer Games

U.S. star Serena Williams has captured four gold medals in tennis, most recently in 2012 in women's singles action. File Photo by Ray Stubblebine/UPI
U.S. star Serena Williams has captured four gold medals in tennis, most recently in 2012 in women's singles action. File Photo by Ray Stubblebine/UPI | License Photo

June 27 (UPI) -- American women's tennis star Serena Williams said Sunday she won't compete at the Summer Olympics in Japan.

Williams has captured four gold medals in tennis, most recently in women's singles play in 2012. The 39-year-old declined to offer a specific reason for her decision to not travel to Tokyo.

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"I'm actually not on the Olympic list, not that I'm aware of," Williams told reporters at Wimbledon, which is set to begin this week. "If so, then I shouldn't be on it.

"... There's a lot of reasons that I made my Olympic decision. I don't really want to -- I don't feel like going into them today. Maybe another day. Sorry, I have not thought about it. In the past, [the Olympics] has been a wonderful place for me. I really haven't thought about it, so I'm going to keep not thinking about it."

Williams beat Maria Sharapova in the women's final to win gold at the London Games. Williams partnered with her sister, Venus, to earn gold medals in doubles competition in Sydney in 2000, Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012.

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Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, begins her quest for an eight Wimbledon title and a record-tying 24th major championship this week. She is scheduled to play Belarus' Aliaksandra Sasnovich on Tuesday in the first round.

Williams is seeded sixth for this year's Wimbledon tournament, but she is considered one of the top favorites to win the event.

Serena Williams' tennis career: a look back

Serena Williams returns the ball to her sister, Venus, during their match at the Lipton Tennis Championship in Key Biscayne, Fla., on March 28, 1998. Venus Williams, defeated her sister 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. Photo by Susan Knowles/UPI | License Photo

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