Precisely 32 nations will be represented at the Tokyo Olympics in the women’s singles tennis tournament, which runs from July 24th through August 1st. The matches will be played at the Ariake Coliseum. It is the venue that usually hosts the WTA Pan Pacific Open.
Tokyo Olympics 2020: Women’s Singles Draw Analysis
Top half, first section: Grand Slam champions Barty and Krejcikova slated to meet in the last eight
World #1 Ashleigh Barty leads the first section. The newly-crowned Wimbledon champion will open up against Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo–one of the breakout stars in 2021.
Sorribes Tormo has developed into a bonafide hardcourt competitor this season. She captured her maiden WTA title in Guadalajara. The 24-year-old has outpaced her record on clay by some distance. But the Australian top seed is the clear favorite to progress and could face the winner of the first-round clash between Anastasija Sevastova and Fiona Ferro.
Barty’s projected third-round opponent is likely to be Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova–one of four Russians in the draw. Pavlyuchenkova is expected to overpower the Italian veteran Sara Errani in the first round. And the winner of the duel between Anna-Lena Friedsam and Heather Watson is likely to meet the French Open runner-up.
Moving on, Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic plays American Jessica Pegula in a mouthwatering opener. Canadian prospects will rest on young Leylah Fernandez. The 18-year-old will lock horns against the exonerated Dayana Yastremska. Fernandez has fared poorly in recent months, but her form on hard courts should put her in good stead against an opponent who has only played three matches this season.
Eighth seed Barbora Krejcikova completes the first section. The Czech has turned the women’s tour into her own playground in the past two-and-half months. In fact, Krejcikova comes to Tokyo as the most in-form WTA player with three singles titles under her belt. That includes her maiden Grand Slam singles title at Roland Garros. Krejcikova has a winnable opening match against Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas, and could face either Bencic or Pegula as early as the third round.
Quarterfinal prediction: (1) Barty vs (8) Krejcikova
Top half, second section: Sabalenka leads a slew of power-hitters
Aryna Sabalenka, Petra Kvitova, Elena Rybakina, and Garbine Muguruza are all packed in this section. Sabalenka squares off against Poland’s Magda Linette. The Belarusian dropped just four games in their only meeting in 2018. If the third seed avoids an upset, she could be third-round bound. Neither Donna Vekic nor Caroline Garcia are likely to prove stumbling blocks in the second round.
Egypt will be represented for the first time in women’s singles competition with the appearance of Mayar Sherif. But Sherif has a horror draw that will see her open up against Rebecca Peterson with Elena Rybakina potentially awaiting in the second round.
Sabalenka and Rybakina are projected to meet in the third round.
Kvitova will face the diminutive Italian Jasmine Paolini. The Czech left-hander was a bronze medalist at the Rio Olympics in 2016 but comes to Tokyo on the back of a shock defeat to world #205 Rebecca Sramkova in Prague.
The Czech lefty is still a perennial danger on this surface and on these parts. She has won four WTA titles on Asian soil in the past. She could really benefit from Muguruza and Kudermetova playing each other in the first round. The winner of that clash is a potential opponent for Kvitova in the third round, if the Czech gets there.
Quarterfinal prediction: (3) Sabalenka vs (10) Kvitova
Bottom half, third section: Newlywed Svitolina leads the charge
The third section features a host of intriguing matches. Wimbledon finalist Karolina Pliskova begins her quest for gold against the wily Frenchwoman Alize Cornet. Things could get really interesting should the Czech advance with Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur potentially lurking. Pliskova has a 2-1 lead over Jabeur in their series, but all three matches had gone the distance.
There is a marquee first-round match between Camila Giorgi and the 11th-seeded Jennifer Brady. The winner of that match could play Eastbourne champion Jelena Ostapenko in the second round.
Elsewhere Greece’s Maria Sakkari opens against Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit–two lone representatives from their respective countries in the women’s draw.
Newlywed Elina Svitolina has put her honeymoon on hold as she looks to replicate her 2016 form from the Rio Olympics. Svitolina sensationally stunned Serena Williams at the Olympics five years ago en route to the quarterfinals. She starts against Germany’s Laura Siegemund. Svitolina could face Ajla Tomljanovic in the second round. Either Sakkari or Kontaveit could await in the third round.
Quarterfinal prediction: (14) Maria Sakkari vs Ons Jabeur
Bottom half, fourth section: All eyes on Osaka as she makes a much-anticipated comeback
Second seed Naomi Osaka will make a return to tennis since her controversial withdrawal from the 2021 French Open. The Japanese woman is a strong contender to win the Gold for the host country. Indeed, Osaka owns four Major titles on hard courts. It is the same surface that is used at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Osaka begins her campaign against China’s Saisai Zheng. The home favorite has beaten Zheng in two previous meetings on the WTA tour. The highest-seeded player she is likely to face before the quarterfinals is Kiki Bertens.
Bertens is seeded a surprisingly high of 16th. But the Dutch powerhouse is on her farewell tour and has a huge hurdle in the form of Marketa Vondrousova in her opener.
Sixth seed Iga Swiatek won her first hard court title during the Australian summer season in February. She will certainly make a substantial impact in Tokyo. The Pole has a reasonably straightforward opening match against Mona Barthel of Germany. But she will be tested in the second round if she meets Paula Badosa. One of Ekaterina Alexandrova or Elise Mertens is a potential third-rounder before the projected quarterfinal against Osaka.
Quarterfinal prediction: (2) Osaka vs (6) Swiatek
Main Photo from Getty.
