Thai tennis hits new low

In a new low for Thai tennis, the London Olympic Games will get underway without a single player from Thailand.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced the full list of entries on Tuesday, confirming that for the first time since the sport was reintroduced to the Games in 1988, there will be no Thai representative. At the start of this week no Thai tennis player was ranked in the top 70, the cut-off point for entry to the Olympic main draw. Sixty-four men and 64 women will compete in the singles. No Thais were granted a wild card.

Only 32 teams were selected for both men's and women's doubles, and no Thais were eligible. For the 16-team mixed doubles, featured in the Olympics for the first time, only players in the singles and doubles lists are eligible. Thailand has had tennis representatives at every Games since 1988. The country's best Olympic tennis result to date is a quarter-final for Tamarine Tanasugarn and Benjamas Saengaram in Sydney 12 years ago.

Thai tennis has been suffering a lean period for some time. This year no player has produced a significant run of results, meaning none will be in the top 100 next week.