Serena Williams Won’t Play at the Tokyo Olympics

Serena Williams in a practice session ahead of Wimbledon on Sunday. Credit...Pool photo by David GraySerena Williams, a four-time gold medalist, indicated on Sunday at Wimbledon that she would not play in the Olympics in Tokyo next month.

“I’m actually not on the Olympic list,” she said. “If so, then I should not be on it.”

The decision was not unexpected. Williams had expressed hesitancy about playing in Tokyo in part because of the travel restrictions that might have prevented her from taking her daughter, Olympia, with her to the Games.

“I would not be able to go function without my 3-year-old around,” Williams said earlier this season. “I think I would be in a depression. We’ve been…