Like most major professional sports, tennis has a complicated relationship with the Olympics. Winning an Olympic gold medal, or indeed winning any Olympic medal, is not the pinnacle of tennis, as it is in the most important and high-profile Olympic sports such as athletics, gymnastics and swimming. Nevertheless, winning an Olympic medal in tennis, especially gold, remains prestigious. And the fact that this year’s Olympic tennis tournament will be held at Roland-Garros, the home of the French Open, means that winning a medal at Paris 2024 will probably be more prestigious and certainly more memorable than winning a medal at most other Olympic Games.
Here are five ways in which the Olympic tennis at Roland-Garros promises to be historic.
- It’s The First Clay-Court “Olympic Slam”
A new term should be coined for Olympic tennis events that are held at one of the four Major venues, such as “Olympic Slam” or “Olympic Major”, to convey the singular nature of winning an Olympic Gold in one of the sport’s four greatest and most historic arenas. And Olympic tennis at Roland-Garros will be truly unique, as it will be the first clay-court “Olympic Slam”: the first time that the greatest clay-court event in tennis has hosted Olympic tennis.
Paris has twice hosted the Olympics before, in 1900 and 1924, but both of those Parisian Olympics came before Roland-Garros was built in 1928 (and named after a great French aviator). Consequently, this is the first time ever that Court Philippe Chatrier, Court Suzanne Lenglen and all the other show courts at Roland-Garros will have staged Olympic tennis.
Indeed, there has only ever been one full “Olympic Slam” before, at Wimbledon in 2012, as the tennis at the 1908 London Olympics was divided between Wimbledon and Queen’s Club. French tennis fans will hope that Paris 2024 has as great a galvanising effect on French players, or even just one French player, as London 2012 had on Andy Murray. Only a few weeks after losing to Roger Federer in the 2012 Wimbledon Final, Murray returned to the same court in a Team GB outfit to beat the great Swiss in three straight sets (unlike at Paris 2024, the London 2012 Men’s Final was over five sets). And just a few weeks after that, Murray won the very next Major he appeared at, the US Open, to become the first British man to win a Major singles title in 76 years.
It is unlikely that any French tennis player, male or female, will emulate Murray by winning their home “Olympic Slam”, because none of them are as highly ranked or highly regarded now as Murray was in 2012. Nevertheless, Murray’s 2012 Wimbledon Olympic triumph is the perfect reminder of how a home “Olympic Slam” is capable not only of galvanising home players but transforming them.
- The Twilight Of At Least One Tennis God (and Possibly Three)
Andy Murray will come full Olympic circle in Paris. He has confirmed that it will be the last tournament that he will compete at as a professional, and even then, only in the doubles, alongside Dan Evans, as he is no longer fit enough to play singles. That is especially true in such a compressed and gruelling format as Olympic tennis, where the top players (i.e. those who hope to win medals) will be performing virtually every day, albeit over just three sets, for over a week.
Of course, Murray is not the only tennis god for whom Paris 2024 might be their twilight. After two injury-ruined seasons and a comeback this year that has not caught light, Rafael Nadal has strongly suggested that this will be his last season as a professional. And where better for the great Spaniard to bow out than at the venue that he has virtually made his own over the last two decades?
After the draw for the Olympic tennis events on Thursday, there is a real possibility that Nadal will meet Novak Djokovic in the men’s singles as early as the second round. If that match does happen, it would be truly historic, as it would be the first (and last) time ever that two of the Big Three have played each other in an Olympics singles match. If Nadal loses it, then it could be his final au revoir to Roland-Garros, other than possible future doubles matches alongside Carlos Alcaraz. But if Djokovic were to lose it, it would surely increase the growing conviction that it will not be long before he follows Murray and Nadal into retirement.
- Carlos Alcaraz Could Consolidate His Position As The New King of Men’s Tennis
Having already achieved one type of Tennis Triple Crown this year, by becoming the youngest male player ever to win Majors on the sport’s three main surfaces (grass, clay and hardcourt), Carlos Alcaraz might be on the verge of another in Paris. If he wins the Men’s singles title at the Olympics, the brilliant young Spaniard will emulate the 2008 achievement of his compatriot Nadal by winning the French Open, Wimbledon, and the Olympics in the same summer. And in the process, he would consolidate his position as the new young king of men’s tennis.
Jannik Sinner’s late withdrawal from the Olympics because of tonsilitis (which is yet another injury or illness for the Italian in the last few months) will undoubtedly increase Alcaraz’s chances of winning singles gold, as will the fact that his other two main rivals, Djokovic and Nadal, are in the other half of the draw to him. However, several complicating factors still mean Alcaraz’s second triumph in Paris in a matter of months is far from a foregone conclusion.
The first is his participation in the men’s doubles with Nadal. “Nadalcaraz” may be a dream pairing (including linguistically). Still, the fact that Alcaraz will be playing doubles for the first time at such a high-profile event (having barely played doubles at all throughout his nascent career) means that it is impossible to know how he will combine playing both singles and doubles. In addition, Olympic tennis matches, even in the men’s singles tournament, are only played over three sets, not five, which means that Alcaraz’s tendency to start matches slowly (and even lose the first set) could be punished far more quickly and effectively than in a five-set Major match. Nevertheless, these caveats notwithstanding, it is difficult to see beyond Alcaraz for men’s singles gold.
- And Iga Świątek Can Consolidate Her Position as the Queen of Clay
If there are some doubts about Carlos Alcaraz’s ability to win the men’s singles title in Paris, there are few, if any, about Iga Świątek’s ability to win the women’s singles title. Alcaraz may have won his first-ever French Open title earlier this summer, but Świątek has already won four French Open titles, including completing a hat-trick of titles in June. Consequently, she will be a far hotter favourite on the red dirt than Alcaraz.
And unlike Alcaraz, Świątek’s chances in the singles are strengthened by her involvement, or rather lack of it, in the doubles. She had been due to play mixed doubles with compatriot Hubert Hurkacz, but like Jannik Sinner, Holger Rune and several others, Hurkacz has had to withdraw from the Olympics because of injury (presumably the after-effects of the nasty fall that he took at Wimbledon just a few weeks ago). Consequently, Świątek can focus exclusively on the singles in Paris.
Given that she can concentrate solely on playing singles, it is virtually impossible to see Świątek not winning the women’s singles in Paris. Her two greatest rivals will either be missing (in the case of Aryna Sabalenka, who is still suffering the injury that forced her to withdraw from Wimbledon) or greatly reduced on clay (in the case of Elena Rybakina, whose huge serve and groundstrokes are far less effective on dirt than on grass). Although Świątek has a relatively tough draw, which could see her facing opponents such as Linda Noskova and Jelena Ostapenko early on in the tournament, she is a virtually volcanic favourite to win the women’s singles.
- Coco Gauff Could Win A First Olympic Medal (or More Than One)
The news that Coco Cauff will be the joint flagbearer for the United States at the Olympics opening ceremony alongside the legendary LeBron James raised some eyebrows in the wider sporting world, given that the young American is yet to appear at the Olympics. (She missed the Tokyo Games in 2021 because of Covid.) However, Gauff has consistently declared how important the Olympics are to her, and she has definitively proven that by entering all three events.
She will be a major contender for a medal in the women’s singles. Still, having proven her doubles prowess by becoming world No.1 in doubles, she is also entering both the women’s doubles (alongside Jessica Pegula) and the mixed doubles (alongside Taylor Fritz).
Gauff may not have pushed on dramatically in the last year since her first Major win at the US Open last September, but the Olympics could bring out the best in her. In addition to representing her country, she will surely be further boosted by the sheer global profile of the Olympics, which affords her the opportunity to achieve the same kind of iconic status as world-famous compatriots like LeBron James and Simone Biles. As a result, there is every chance that she will win at least one medal at these Olympics, if not more.
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey – USA TODAY Sports
