Women’s singles
Paris is poised for the women’s singles tennis event following the 2024 Olympic Games draw on Thursday.
Round 1 will see two former world No. 1s clash in what is expected to be one’s major comeback, and the other’s definitive goodbye. World No. 102 Naomi Osaka will contend with Germany’s Angelique Kerber in a big baseliners first-round bash.
Osaka is still rebuilding her game and ranking after having her daughter Shai in July 2023. Three-time Grand Slam champion Kerber announced on Thursday morning that the Olympics would be her final tournament. A two-time Olympian, Kerber’s best Games performance was in 2016 when she won the silver medal. Kerber currently leads Osaka 4-2 in their meetings, but at the pair’s last battle, Osaka dismissed Kerber, 6-2, 6-3, at the 2022 Miami Open.
World No. 1 and first seed Iga Swiatek of Poland tops the draw and will face world No. 136 Irina-Camelia Begu in Round 1. Swiatek could face a tough contender in the quarterfinals, No. 10 seed Jelena Ostapenko. The Latvian leads Swiatek 4-0 in their meetings, and is also partial to clay, as she took the 2017 French Open title.
While Swiatek sits on top of the draw, the No. 2 seed, Coco Gauff, sits at the other side of the draw on the bottom. The American, who was recently named the U.S. Opening Ceremony flag bearer at the Games, will start her first Olympic campaign against Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic.
Italy’s Jasmine Polini enters the Olympics after an impressive spring and summer swing, as she was the runner-up at both the French Open and Wimbledon. The No. 4 seed is anticipated to face No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals. While steadily remaining in the top 10 in rankings, Pegula has yet to get past a quarterfinal at any slam.
Kazhakstan’s Elena Rybakina was seeded No. 3, but announced on Thursday that she withdrew from the Olympic tournament. Rybakina joins a number of top players in withdrawing, including Tokyo 2020 silver medalist Marketa Vondrousova and Aryna Sabalenka. Reigning champion Belinda Bencic will be out after giving birth to her daughter in April.
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