By Richard Pagliaro | @TennisNow | Thursday, July 25, 2024
Angelique Kerber will launch her final tournament facing Naomi Osaka in a blockbuster Olympics opener, while Iga Swiatek could face familiar foes.
Photo credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty
Iga Swiatek’s gold-medal dreams could come with some major flashbacks.
Grand Slam champions Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber will square off in a Olympic blockbuster opener. And world No. 1 Swiatek could face a series of hard hitters who knocked her out of Grand Slams in the past.
More: Djokovic and Nadal Could Meet in Olympics Second Round
The Paris Olympic draws were conducted today and the first-round showdown between former world No. 1 champions Osaka and Kerber, in what is the 36-year-old German’s final tournament, commands attention.
Kerber, who gave birth to daughter Liana on February 25th, 2023, announced she will retire after the Paris Olympic tennis tournament.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Kerber is 4-2 lifetime vs. Osaka—this will be their first meeting on red clay.
See the Olympic women’s singles draw here.
World No. 102 Osaka nearly toppled reigning Roland Garros champion Swiatek in the Roland Garros second round in May. Swiatek fought off a match point in the third set before rallying to complete a comeback 7-6(1), 1-6, 7-5 victory over the powerful Japanese.
Top-seeded Swiatek opens vs. Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu with the winner facing either Argentinean Nadia Podoroska or Frenchwoman Diane Parry.
Czechia’s Linda Noskova who defeated Swiatek in the Australian Open third round last January and 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, who is 4-0 lifetime against Swiatek, including a three-set win in the 2023 US Open fourth round, are both in Swiatek’s section. Neither Noskova nor Ostapenko have faced the four-time French Open champion Swiatek on her beloved red clay.
World No. 9 Danielle Collins, who stunned Swiatek in the 2022 Australian Open semifinals, is the Pole's potential quarterfinal opponent. The 23-year-old Swiatek has beaten Collins six times in seven meetings.
Reigning US Open singles champion and Roland Garros double champion Coco Gauff faces dangerous Aussie Ajla Tomljanovic in her opener. Tomljanovic famously ended Serena Williams’ Grand Slam career at the US Open.
World No. 4 Elena Rybakina withdrew from the Olympics today due to an undisclosed illness.
The 2022 Wimbledon winner's departure bumps Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia up to seeded status at No. 17 seed.
Other intriguing Olympic first-round matches include:
Karolina Muchova (Czechia) vs. (16) Leylah Fernandez (Canada)
(2) Coco Gauff (USA) vs. Ajla Tomlajanovic (Australia)
Clara Tauson (Denmark) vs. Bianca Andreescu (Canada)
(12) Marta Kostyuk (Ukraine) vs. Yulia Putintseva (Kazakhstan)