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Olympic tennis returns to clay: last hurrah for legends, rise of new talent

Alcaraz and Swiatek among young stars to watch; Chinese tennis expectations are high

PARIS:

For the first time since Barcelona 1992, the Olympic tennis matches will be played on red clay. This summer, Paris will witness the latest Olympic performances of legendary players such as Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, as well as the emergence of young stars such as Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek.

The Paris 2024 tennis tournaments will take place at Roland Garros from 27 July to 4 August. A total of 184 athletes from 41 countries and regions will compete for five gold medals in the men’s and women’s singles and doubles, and in the mixed doubles.

Paris 2024 will mark Nadal’s fourth and final Olympic Games. The 22-time major champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist announced in May that he would likely end his career in 2024 due to a persistent hip injury. Nadal, who skipped Wimbledon to avoid the stress of transitioning from clay to grass, is aiming to cap his illustrious career with another gold medal at Roland Garros, where he has won a record 14 titles.

Britain’s Andy Murray, who won back-to-back Olympic gold at London 2012 and Rio 2016, is also retiring from the sport. The men’s singles competition will be hotly contested, with 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic and rising star Carlos Alcaraz, the youngest man to win major titles on hard, grass and clay, both vying for their first Olympic gold.

On the women’s side, several top-ranked players have withdrawn from Paris 2024, including world number three Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and two-time Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur of Tunisia. However, the field remains strong, with formidable young talents including four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek of Poland and reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff of the United States, both aiming for their first Olympic gold medal.

Chinese players are looking to make a significant impact on the world stage. This summer, China will send a team of seven players to Paris, led by women’s world No. 8 Zheng Qinwen and men’s world No. 34 Zhang Zhizhen, who recently made history as the first Chinese male player to secure a seed at Wimbledon.

The Chinese women’s singles team, featuring four Olympic debutants, is one of six teams that have a full quota of players at the event. Veterans Zhang Shuai and Zheng Saisai will team up with young players Yuan Yue and Wang Xinyu in the women’s doubles.

The recent progress in Chinese tennis is clearly visible, with Zheng Qinwen finishing runner-up at the 2024 Australian Open and world number 36 Wang Xinyu reaching the last 16 at Wimbledon. Paris will also see the first male player from mainland China at the Olympics since Beijing 2008, as Asian Games champion Zhang Zhizhen aims for a deep run.

China’s last Olympic tennis gold came in Athens 2004, when Li Ting and Sun Tiantian won the women’s doubles. The best singles performance by a Chinese player was Li Na’s fourth place in Beijing 2008.

As the Olympic Games return to the historic clay courts of Roland Garros, the mix of seasoned legends and ambitious young stars promises to be an exciting showcase of tennis talent.

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