Coco Gauff continues to lead WTA Olympic Games race despite Aryna Sabalenka closing in

Coco Gauff maintains her lead in the WTA Olympic Games race, followed by the recent Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka and the world No. 1 Iga Swiatek. The Olympic Games 2024 Paris will take place on the clay courts of Roland Garros.

Although Gauff remains at world No. 3, she is the player who has accumulated the most points since June of last year, thanks to her three titles during the US hardcourt swing, including her first Grand Slam victory at the US Open. Belinda Bencic, the reigning gold medallist, will be absent from Paris due to her pregnancy, keeping her out for the rest of the season.

The qualification system includes 64 tennis players, with 56 of them entering based on the WTA rankings as of June 10, which is 52 weeks from the end of the 2023 French Open. Under this system, the maximum quota of four players representing their country must be respected, and the list then fills the freed-up slots beyond the top 56.

The remaining eight spots consist of six ITF slots, granted to champions and finalists of continental competitions in America, Asia, and Africa. Another spot is secured for France as the host country, but the spot will be freed up if they achieve all four direct qualifications. The last place will be a wild card for a former Olympic or Grand Slam champion. In case the spot reserved for the French is freed up, there will be two wild cards.

There will likely be changes in the Olympic Games qualification due to entry regulations. For example, Chinese player Qinwen Zheng, the recent Australian Open finalist, already secured her spot as the champion of the Asian Games. Zheng is currently in 6th place in the race, potentially freeing up a spot.

If the qualification were to be determined today, the Americans would free up additional spots, having six players in the qualifying zone. The representatives would be Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, and Emma Navarro, excluding Sofia Kenin (34th), Caroline Doleheide (43rd), Ashlyn Krueger (No. 58), and Danielle Collins (No. 59).