Iga Swiatek will be hoping to build on her dominant clay court season as she eyes up Olympic glory.
To many, it’s not really a question of who will win at the Paris Olympics, but how ruthlessly she will go about doing so.
Iga Swiatek won in Madrid, Rome, and then Paris to cap off a dominant few months on the red stuff, including a 40-minute 6-0, 6-0 thrashing of Anastasia Potapova at Roland Garros.
With a number of high-profile absentees including Emma Raducanu, Aryna Sabalenka, and Ons Jabeur, the run-in to the gold looks even more straightforward for the Pole.
As one of several Team USA stars heading to the Olympics, Coco Gauff looks the most likely to come away with a medal, having made the semi-finals of the French Open in June.
With both Gauff and Swiatek experiencing premature exits at Wimbledon, perhaps the red carpet ought not to be rolled out so quickly.
While you’d be mad to bet against the three-time French Open champion, here are three outside contenders to take an Olympic medal in Paris.
Barbora Krejcikova
The high-flying Czech star, Barbora Krejcikova doubled her tally of major singles titles with a remarkable win at Wimbledon just over a week ago, beating Jasmine Paolini in a thrilling three-set classic.
Her victory at the French Open in 2021 saw her defeat American duo Sloane Stephens and Gauff, as well as Maria Sakkari.
In the constant tumult and confusion that envelops the WTA, Krejcikova never looks anything other than cool, calm, and collected.
With her precise, whipped forehand and strong serve, the shot that guided her to Wimbledon triumph, the world number 10 has won both of her last two matches against Swiatek.
Likely to get a fairly favourable draw given the amount of high-ranking withdrawals, Krejcikova has already disrupted the narrative this summer – why can’t she do it again?
Danielle Collins
Danielle Collins, or ‘Danimal’ as she is also known, announced early in 2024 that this would be her last year of playing on the professional tour.
The feisty American has swept up a handful of titles and managed to find the best form of her career as retirement looms.
She won in Miami and then Charleston as she became the first woman to win these tournaments back-to-back since Serena Williams in 2013.
Her clay court game has seen vast improvement too, with Collins reaching her maiden clay semi-final in Rome, eventually losing out to Sabalenka, who will not feature in Paris.
With Collins having only got the better of Swiatek once in their seven meetings, her 2022 Australian Open semi-final win will give her hope that she can do it on the biggest stage.
Jelena Ostapenko
The rambunctious Latvian comes into the Paris Olympics with a relatively poor record, having been dumped out in the first round in Tokyo last time out.
An early career win at just 19 saw Jelena Ostapenko become the first Latvian player to win a Grand Slam singles tournament and the first unseeded woman to win the French Open since 1933.
With a ludicrously powerful game, the 27-year-old sailed to the quarter-finals of Wimbledon just over a week ago, narrowly losing out to the eventual winner Krejcikova.
Despite none coming on the red stuff, the Latvian has won all four of her meetings with Swiatek, with the Pole still unable to have worked out the winning formula.
With a fiery on-court presence, drama and inconsistency has plagued Ostapenko’s career, however, if she can find her form of old in Paris, she may continue to be the thorn in Swiatek’s side.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
