Top 10 tennis players likely to make final appearance at Paris Olympics 2024

Andy Murray is set to bid goodbye to the sport after the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The 2024 Paris Olympics will feature some of the biggest tennis stars taking center stage, including 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic. The Serbian will aim to secure the only prestigious title missing from his glorious trophy cabinet: an Olympic gold medal.

Meanwhile, 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal will also be back on his favourite court. After winning back-to-back Wimbledon titles and completing a successful Channel Slam, Carlos Alcaraz will also look to win his first Olympic medal, while the defending champion, Alexander Zverev, will hope to repeat his heroics.

Iga Swiatek, the 2024 French Open champion, will undoubtedly start as a favourite in the women’s singles, but she too will face stiff competition. Barbora Krejcikova, the 2024 Wimbledon winner, previously won a gold medal at the 2020 Olympics in doubles and will now aim to achieve the same success in singles. Alongside her, tennis stars such as Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, Naomi Osaka and 2024 French Open finalist Jasmine Paolini will be on the lookout for their first Olympic medal.

For several tennis veterans, Paris 2024 might mark their final shot at Olympic glory and the opportunity to win a coveted medal for their country. Let’s take a closer look at the top 10 players who could be participating in their last Olympics.

10. Milos Raonic

Milos Raonic is all set to appear for his second Olympic Games, after 2012 London, where he played a historic second round match, eventually losing an epic deciding set to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga that ultimately finished 25-23 in the Frenchman’s favour.

The Canadian qualified via his ATP-protected ranking of 33. Apart from the men’s singles, Raonic will also partner the highly-talented Félix Auger-Aliassime in the men’s doubles event, as he hopes to go for one last hurray.

9. Angelique Kerber

Angelique Kerber will be making her fourth Olympic appearance, with one silver medal to her name coming at the 2016 Rio. The three-time Grand Slam champion will participate in women’s singles and doubles, partnering alongside Laura Siegemund in Paris 2024.

The 36-year-old will be remembered for her Australian Open and Wimbledon victories over the legendary Serena Williams in the finals.

8. Gael Monfils

Gael Monfils will have the poignant opportunity to conclude his Olympic career on home soil. The Frenchman will be taking part in his fourth Olympics and would hope to improve on his past performances. The 37-year-old lost to Djokovic and Kei Nishikori in the quarter-finals at Beijing 2008 and Rio 2016, respectively.

“[The] Olympic Games haven’t been held in France in 100 years, so it is a centennial opportunity,” he said. “To play Roland-Garros in best-of-three sets, that’s something. It’s different. It [will] be really great,” added Monfils, excited about the opportunity to play his last Olympics in front of his home crowd.

7. Kei Nishikori

Kei Nishikori will be Japan’s sole representative in the men’s singles event as he prepares to take part in his fifth Olympic Games. The 34-year-old won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, defeating Nadal in a three-set third-place playoff, for one of the standout triumphs of his career.

The Japanese enters the Games using a protected ranking of No. 48. He has slipped down the rankings following both hip surgery and an ankle injury in 2022 that delayed his comeback and saw him play just four tournaments in 2023.

6. Danielle Collins

Danielle Collins made an unexpected announcement to retire at the end of the 2024 season after this year’s Australian Open, citing her battle with endometriosis and subsequent surgeries. This decision marks the American’s first and final appearance at the Olympics. Despite starting the season ranked outside the top 50, the 30-year-old has had an exceptional year, claiming titles at the Miami Open and Charleston Open and climbing steadily to reach World No. 9.

At the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, Collins reached the fourth round before bowing out to eventual winner Barbora Krejcikova. Joining Collins in representing the United States in women’s singles at the Paris Olympics are Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro. The American contingent also boasts top players like Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Christopher Eubanks and Marcos Giron.

5. Stan Wawrinka

Stan Wawrinka might be 39 years old and the proud owner of some of the biggest prizes in tennis, including an Olympic gold medal, but the three-time Grand Slam and Davis Cup champion says earning a place in Paris 2024 remains a ‘big motivation.’

The Swiss won a doubles gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics when he partnered with 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer. As the sole men’s tennis player from his nation, the 39-year-old will carry the weight of his nation’s expectations.

4. Rohan Bopanna

Rohan Bopanna, at the age of 44, has been single-handedly carrying the legacy of a country with over 1.4 billion people. One of India’s finest athletes, Bopanna’s determination and fighting ability are truly worth appreciating. Alongside his regular partner Matthew Ebden, he became the oldest man to win a Grand Slam—the 2024 Australian Open.

At the Paris Olympics, the Bangalorean will play alongside N. Sriram Balaji, who had a decent outing at the 2024 French Open.

After Sania Mirza’s retirement, the Indian veteran struggled to find a potent Indian doubles partner and with an improving Balaji, he will hope to break all barriers and win his first Olympic medal. The Bopanna-Balaji pair is currently participating in the German Open ahead of the grand event.

3. Andy Murray

The 2024 Paris Olympics will be Andy Murray’s final tennis event as he is all set to bid goodbye to the sport. After opting out of the Wimbledon men’s singles, the Brit lost in the first round of the men’s doubles. Later, his mixed doubles partner, Emma Raducanu backed out before the first round due to a wrist injury, officially ending Murray’s Wimbledon career and sparking a major controversy.

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The 37-year-old won his first Olympic gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics and successfully defended it in Rio. Murray is the only singles player to have successfully defended an Olympic gold. In the 2024 Olympics, Murray will participate in men’s singles and men’s doubles, partnering with Dan Evans.

As one of the all-time greats, whose career was marred by injury, the three-time Grand Slam champion will have one last chance to make an impact at the most prestigious sporting event.

2. Novak Djokovic

The 37-year-old would look to overcome his loss in the recently-concluded 2024 Wimbledon tournament by winning gold at the Paris Olympics. Last time around, the eventual gold medalist Alexander Zverev defeated him and then he ended up losing to Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain in the bronze medal fixture. The Serbian’s only Olympic medal, a bronze, came back in Beijing 2008.

With a recent knee injury, it’s unlikely that the Serb will compete in another Olympics, given that he would be 41 by then. This makes his upcoming participation potentially his final opportunity to vie for his nation’s first gold medal in tennis at the Games.

1. Rafael Nadal

The 14-time French Open champion is set to grace the courts of Roland-Garros, aiming to secure a medal for Spain. The 38-year-old opted out of Wimbledon this year to focus on winning a medal for his nation.

During my post match press conference at Roland Garros I was asked about my summer calendar and since then I have been practicing on clay. It was announced yesterday that I will play at the summer Olympics in Paris, my last Olympics.

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) June 13, 2024

The Spaniard clinched a singles gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and teamed up with Marc Lopez for a doubles gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics. In 2024, the 22-time Grand Slam champion will compete in both singles and doubles alongside 2024 Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz, aiming to add to his Olympic accolades in what will be his last Olympics as he had earlier confirmed on Twitter (Now X).

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