Roger Federer criticizes the eligibility rules that might keep German tennis players out of the Olympic Games. The German Olympic Sports Federation says players must be ranked at least No. 24 in the world to participate. If the German Tennis Federation isn’t able to convince the Olympic Sports Federation that the rule is too restrictive, that would leave No. 28 Florian Mayer, No. 29 Philipp Kohlschreiber, No. 49 Tommy Haas, and No. 24 Julia Goerges out of London.
"It is a joke how high the criteria has been set," Federer told the German press. "I'd like to see as many German players as possible at Wimbledon. Kohlschreiber has beaten Rafael Nadal, Tommy has beaten me, and we are two of the favorites for both Wimbledon and the Olympics. You have to open the eyes, look beyond the boundaries and see the bigger picture."
Meanwhile, the Swedish Olympic Committee has changed its criteria, and will now allow world No. 46 Sofia Arvidsson to play in the Olympics in singles, and in mixed with Robert Lindstedt.