Djokovic, Isner among those calling for Rio rankings points

11:04 AM ET

PARIS — Neither top-ranked Novak Djokovic nor Serena Williams plans to be among the tennis stars who will skip the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janiero this August for scheduling or health reasons, even though the Games fall right between Wimbledon and the US Open.

But Djokovic did call for the pro tours’ organizers to revisit the idea of offering ranking points for players who go to the Games, suggesting it might prevent the kind of defections that are starting to happen among his fellow top-25 players in the men’s game.

“That was one of the debates, whether or not we should have points in the Olympic Games, and to be quite frank, I don’t see a reason why not,” Djokovic said after breezing to victory in his opening match Tuesday at the French Open. “We have the best players in the world participating in arguably the fifth Grand Slam. It’s of that importance for all of us, even more, because it happens only every four years.”

John Isner said one of the reasons he’s skipping Rio is because it is offering no rankings points. Robert Prezioso/Getty Images

So far, 15th-ranked Dominic Thiem of Austria, 19th-ranked John Isner and 23rd-ranked Feliciano Lopez are the most notable tennis players who have said they will not participate in the Games. That mimics a growing trend in men’s golf, where major title winners Adam Scott, …

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