Olympic tennis gets underway on Saturday in Paris, on the grounds of Roland Garros.
While not traditionally thought of as an Olympic sport, the tennis event at the last several Summer Olympic Games has provided some of the sport’s most memorable and emotional moments. Representing their country at the Olympics is one of the biggest achievements in the lives of many tennis players, and the 2024 event being staged at Roland Garros is unquestionably a very special one.
This will be the last tournament in the careers of a pair of three-time Major champions: Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber. And this will be the last Olympics, and likely the last time playing at Roland Garros, for 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal. Rafa’s status for singles is in doubt, but he is committed to playing men’s doubles alongside four-time Major champ Carlos Alcaraz.
Nadal and Alcaraz will play their opening round doubles match on Saturday evening, while Kerber faces fellow multi-time Major champ Naomi Osaka in a blockbuster first round contest to close out the night session. The day session sees both of the top seeds in the singles draws, Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek, play their opening round matches.
The draws for men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles will all be played across the next nine days in Paris.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Saturday’s play begins at 12:00pm local time.
Alcaraz and Nadal practicing this week (twitter.com/ITFTennis
Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni [ARG] (6) vs. Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal [ESP] – 7:00pm on Court Philippe-Chatrier
Eight years ago, Nadal won the gold medal in men’s singles at the Rio Olympics, alongside Marc Lopez. And eight years before that, he claimed the gold medal in men’s singles at the Beijing Olympics, notably defeating Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. Now he goes for a third gold medal, teaming with the reigning Roland Garros and Wimbledon men’s singles champion.
But this is a physically compromised, 38-year-old version of Rafa, who has only played six events within the last 18 months. And while he reached the final just last week in Bastad, that run apparently took a toll on his body. There are reports he may be pulling out of the singles draw in Paris, as a four-hour quarterfinal match last week against Mariano Navone certainly drained the King of Clay.
This will be the first time these two Spanish all-time greats team up, and both have rarely played doubles in their careers. By contrast, Gonzalez and Molteni are both top 20 doubles players. And while they didn’t team together during the grass court season, they’ve won seven titles together within the last 18 months.
However, facing these two Roland Garros champions on Court Philippe-Chatrier will be a daunting task. And Nadal should be less hampered on the doubles court than the singles court. I expect Rafa and Carlitos to embrace the energy of the Saturday night crowd in Paris, and advance to the next round.
Naomi Osaka [JPN] vs. Angelique Kerber [GER] – Last on Court Philippe-Chatrier
Both of these players returned from maternity at the start of the year, though neither has yet rediscovered their top form. 26-year-old Osaka has shown glimpses of it, specifically two months ago at this same venue, when she was just a point away from upsetting Iga Swiatek. 36-year-old Kerber is just 7-14 since returning, and arrives in Paris on a five-match losing streak. Angie announced earlier this week that she will retire from the sport following these Olympic Games.
These two sure-fire Hall of Famers played six times between 2017 and 2022, with Kerber taking four of those six encounters. However, most of those occurred while Angie was at her best, and before Naomi had reached her top level. They’ve never before played on clay, which is certainly neither’s favorite surface.
In the last tournament of her career, Kerber will be extra motivated to achieve a good result. And she’s done so before at the Olympics, as she was the silver medalist back in 2016. At the last Olympics in Tokyo, Osaka seemed distracted and overwhelmed playing in her home country’s Games. But this season, she’s been extremely focused on her tennis, and has dedicated herself to better acclimating to playing on clay. Based on her performance in Paris two months ago, I like Naomi’s chances of prevailing on Saturday, and thus ending Angie’s singles career.
Swiatek practicing this week (twitter.com/ITFTennis)
Other Notable Matches on Saturday:
Iga Swiatek [POL] (1) vs. Irina-Camelia Begu [ROU] – Swiatek is 21-1 this year on clay, and is on a 19-match win streak on this surface. Three years ago at Wimbledon, she thumped Begu by a score of 6-1, 6-0.
Jack Draper [GBR] vs. Kei Nishikori [JPN] – Nishikori was a bronze medalist at the Rio Olympics, but injuries have only allowed him to play four ATP events across the last three seasons. Draper currently sits at a career-high ranking of No.26, thanks to 21 match wins in 2024.
Novak Djokovic [SRB[ (1) vs. Matthew Ebden [AUS] – An Olympic gold medal is the one glaring blemish on the Djokovic CV, and at 37 years of age, this will most certainly be his last good chance to win the gold for Serbia, which might mean more to Novak than any of his other career accomplishments. Ebden replaces Andy Murray in the singles draw, and the Australian hasn’t played a singles match in over two years, as the ITF bizarrely uses doubles players already on site as singles alternates.
Hady Habib [LBN] vs. Carlos Alcaraz [ESP] (2) – Alcaraz will play both singles and doubles on Saturday, and he’s now 33-6 on the year in singles, coming off his fourth Major title at Wimbledon. Habib is a 25-year-old representing Lebanon who has never been ranked inside the world’s top 250.
Rinky Hijikata [AUS] vs. Daniil Medvedev [AIN] (4) – Three years ago at the Tokyo Olympics, Medvedev lost in the quarterfinals to eventual bronze medalist Pablo Carreno Busta. Hijikata peaked at No.70 in singles last season, but is just 10-16 in 2024.
Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula [USA] (1) vs. Ellen Perez and Daria Saville [AUS] – Gauff will be the flag bearer for the United States during Friday’s opening ceremony, after missing the Tokyo Games due to COVID. Her and Pegula are regular partners, while Perez and Saville are not, though Perez is a top 10 doubles player.
Saturday’s full Order of Play is here.
