The tennis tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympics promises to be a highlight of the Games, with top players vying for medals and intriguing stories beyond the sport. Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you enjoy every moment of the tennis action.
Competition Format
At Paris 2024, tennis will feature five events: men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. Unlike other sports, tennis awards only one bronze medal per event, so there will be a third-place match for the semifinal losers.
Matches will be played in the best-of-three sets format, with the singles draws featuring 64 players each. Winning the gold requires six victories. The men’s and women’s doubles events will have 32 pairs each, while the mixed doubles will feature just 16 teams, making two victories enough to reach the semifinals.
Schedule and Timings
The tennis tournament kicks off early, running from Saturday, July 27, to Sunday, August 4. Matches will start daily at 12:00 PM, with evening sessions at 7:00 PM, except for the last two days when only daytime sessions will be held. Mixed doubles will commence on July 29, with medals awarded between August 2 and 4.
Finals Timing
Medal matches will take place on the final days of competition at the Philippe Chatrier Court, starting from 12:00 PM. The men’s singles final is scheduled for August 4, around 3:00 PM, following the women’s doubles bronze match. The women’s singles final will be held the previous day at a similar time, after the men’s singles bronze match.
Draws and Seedings
Unlike Grand Slams, the Olympic tournament features 16 seeds due to one less round. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) will publish the seedings before the draw, which will be held on Thursday, July 25, at 11:00 AM (except for mixed doubles).
Prize Money and Rankings
Olympic tennis does not offer ranking points or prize money. Players compete solely for national pride. Federations may provide financial rewards, but performances at the Olympics will not affect ATP or WTA rankings.
Notable Absences and Favorites
This year’s Olympics will see few top player absences. Aryna Sabalenka, Ons Jabeur, and Andrey Rublev are notable absentees, alongside Ben Shelton, Grigor Dimitrov, Adrian Mannarino, Paula Badosa, Karen Khachanov, and Emma Raducanu. Alejandro Davidovich is missing due to unpreparedness, and Horacio Zeballos, the world’s number one in doubles, was not selected by Argentina.
Top contenders include Novak Djokovic, who seeks his first Olympic gold, Rafael Nadal aiming for a memorable comeback, and rising stars Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Defending champion Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, and Stefanos Tsitsipas are also strong candidates. For the women, Iga Swiatek leads as the favorite, with Elina Rybakina and Coco Gauff also in the mix.
How to Watch
In Spain, tennis and other Olympic sports will be broadcasted on RTVE and MAX. RTVE will feature coverage on La1, La2, and Teledeporte, with comprehensive tennis content available on its app, RTVE Play. Eurosport will offer extensive coverage on its channels and the MAX platform.
Stay tuned for an exciting tennis tournament at Paris 2024, filled with unforgettable moments and fierce competition.