Paris 2024 women’s singles draw: 5 key takeaways – ft. Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka
The women’s singles draw is set at Paris 2024, with some intriguing scenarios set to play out.
Ahead of action starting on Saturday, we look at five key takeaways as the best WTA players prepare to battle it out for gold.
Swiatek’s tough draw
Poland’s Iga Swiatek is still the favourite for gold, but it may not be easy for her in Paris.
The world No 1 has a good opening draw against Irina-Camelia Begu and should then beat Nadia Podoroska or Diane Parry in round two.
But she could then face the much-improved 15th seed Diana Shnaider in round three, before a quarter-final against eighth seed Danielle Collins – or long-term nemesis Jelena Ostapenko.
On clay, you would back Swiatek to win any of those matches – but it will not be straightforward for her.
Coco to cruise?
Compared to the world No 1, world No 2 Coco Gauff has been handed a much kinder draw at the venue she reached the final in 2022, and the semi-final earlier this year.
Gauff begins her campaign with a winnable round one match versus Ajla Tomljanovic, before a round two contest against either Maria Lourdes Carle or Tatjana Maria.
Further ahead, the American is projected to face 13th seed Donna Vekic in round three before a potential quarter-final against seventh seed Maria Sakkari, and semi-final versus Jasmine Paolini.
It is not an ‘easy’ draw per se, but it is ultimately a navigable one for Gauff – can she take advantage and seal herself a medal?
Olympic Games News
Paris 2024 women’s draw: Iga Swiatek faces tricky path, Naomi Osaka vs Angelique Kerber R1
Osaka vs Kerber
All eyes fixated on one epic round one battle when the draw was revealed: Naomi Osaka against Angelique Kerber.
Mere hours before the draw Kerber confirmed that this would be the final tournament of her career, and now it appears her final match could be against another fellow former world No 1.
Osaka showed some signs of promise on the clay in the spring and is perhaps the favourite for this match, but there is no clear outcome.
Elsewhere, Karolina Muchova against Leylah Fernandez is another notable opening clash.
Brutal third quarter
This is a stacked draw but the third quarter in particular has depth, with three women you could class as potential title contenders all set to battle it out.
The highest-ranked player here is fourth seed Jasmine Paolini, who comes in off the back of finishing as the runner-up at Wimbledon and the French Open.
But the Italian doesn’t have an easy opener against Ana Bogdan, with Mirra Andreeva or Magda Linette then awaiting in round two.
Her projected quarter-final opponent is fifth seed Jessica Pegula but she could face Tokyo bronze medallist Elina Svitolina in round two – before a third round versus ninth seed Barbora Krejcikova.
The Czech beat Paolini in the Wimbledon final and won at Roland Garros in 2021, adding an extra layer of intrigue to this fascinating section.
Tough task for home players
Much like in the men’s singles, the draw gods have not been kind to the Frenchwoman in action at their home Games.
The player with the most winnable opening match is Parry, who could beat Podoroska – but would likely have to take on Swiatek next.
Varvara Gracheva is up against 14th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, and Clara Burel faces the experienced Katerina Siniakova.
But, having originally been drawn against Zheng Qinwen, Caroline Garcia now has a slightly kinder draw against Jaqueline Cristian.
The French star has become the 17th seed and moved up in the draw following the withdrawal of Elena Rybakina.
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