With the Olympic Games starting in Paris on July 27, the seeds have been confirmed for the women's draw which will be made on Thursday in the singles led by Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina respectively with numerous misses from the entries.
World No.1 Swiatek of course heads onto a surface that she knows and loves. She has claimed the last three titles at Roland Garros the venue where the Olympic Games will be held and comes in off the back of a disappointing Wimbledon aiming to put that right.
In reality she will be tough to beat on her beloved clay losing just once on the surface during 2024. It will be a second Olympic Games appearance for Swiatek who was beaten by Paula Badosa in the delayed tournament three years ago.
Swiatek is followed in the draw by Coco Gauff who is making her debut having tested positive for COVID-19 the last time she was due to play. Aryna Sabalenka is the biggest name casualty and will play DC Open instead. She is instead replaced by Elena Rybakina who will play her second Olympic Games.
Jasmine Paolini rounds out the top four seeds after an incredible summer which has seen her reach the finals of both Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Team USA brings a formidable squad to the table in Paris headlined by Jessica Pegula alongside Gauff as well as Danielle Collins in eighth and Emma Navarro is 11th seed. Madison Keys is a notable omission skipping the tournament.
Qinwen Zheng and Maria Sakkari round out the top eight, while Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova is ninth. A lot of top 20 stars are absent including Keys, Daria Kasatkina, Ons Jabeur and Victoria Azarenka. Marta Kostyuk, Donna Vekic and Diana Shnaider in 12th, 14th and 15th in particular are playing way above their usual seeding as a result. While Leylah Fernandez is final seed as it stands.
Women’s singles seeds - 2024 Olympic Games
1) Iga Swiatek, Poland
2) Coco Gauff, United States
3) Elena Rybakina, Kazakhstan
4) Jasmine Paolini, Italy
5) Jessica Pegula, United States
6) Zheng Qinwen, China
7) Maria Sakkari, Greece
8) Danielle Collins, United States
9) Barbora Krejcikova, Czechia
10) Jelena Ostapenko, Latvia
11) Emma Navarro, United States
12) Marta Kostyuk, Ukraine
13) Donna Vekic, Croatia
14) Beatriz Haddad Maia, Brazil
15) Diana Shnaider, Authorised Neutral Athlete
16) Leylah Fernandez, Canada