Becker vs Morgado: A deep dive into the women's draw controversy at Paris Olympics

Former world number one Boris Becker has rejected claims of a season tennis journalist that women’s world number one Iga Swiatek has been handed a tougher draw than world number two Coco Gauff at the Paris Olympics. The 2024 edition of the mega-event officially began on Friday, and athletes from all over the world will represent their respective countries and aim to secure the ultimate prize.

Famous tennis journalist Jose Morgado, in a post on his official account on the social media platform X — previously known as Twitter — stated that Swiatek has been handed a far tougher draw compared to Gauff in the women’s singles event. “Men's draw looks balanced. Iga got a very tough draw... Noskova/Shnaider R3, Penko/Collins QFs, Rybakina SFs. An absolute nightmare... if this wasn't Roland Garros and clay. Gauff with a dream draw,” he wrote.

In response to that, Becker stated that in his opinion, there are no ‘good or bad draws’ in professional tennis. “The draw is what you make of it …There is no good or bad draw,” he wrote. While Becker might have his opinion, a lot of people will disagree with him, as Swiatek has been handed a more challenging draw than Gauff. But despite a tougher draw, the Warsaw-born star will start the campaign as a favourite, mainly because of her fabulous record while playing at Roland Garros, where she has won four titles in the last five years. She has won the French Open three consecutive times, and the most recent of her victories came earlier this year.

Another factor that might favour the five-time Grand Slam winner is that she is only competing in the singles category, whereas Gauff is also competing in the doubles event. Swiatek will begin her campaign with the match against Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu in the opening round on Saturday. On the other hand, the American tennis star will start her campaign in the singles category against Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic.