World number one Iga Swiatek will return to her most dominant surface and will have a strong chance of winning gold.
Results of the draw:
First half:
Ranked players: (1) Iga Swiatek, (6) Zheng Qinwen, (8) Danielle Collins, (10) Jelena Ostapenko, (11) Emma Navarro, (15) Diana Schneider, (16) Leila Fernandez
Expected semi-final: Iga Swiatek against Naomi Osaka.
Analysis: World number one Iga Swiatek is the hot favourite to win the Paris Olympics and will start her season against Irina-Camelia Begu. The Pole has a fairly easy draw until the quarter-finals, her potential rivals are Diane Perry, Nadya Podoroska, Linda Noskova, as well as Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Diana Schneider. While some of the aforementioned players are good on clay, Swiatek’s performances on this surface were too good.
Next up, Iga could face eighth-seeded Danielle Collins or tenth-seeded Jelena Ostapenko, but Caroline Wozniacki could also go deep. While Ostapenko is a formidable opponent, there is a good chance Collins will earn a spot in the quarterfinals given her performance in 2024. Swiatek’s matchup against the American could be interesting, but the Pole would have to win, as she did twice in 2024.
Elsewhere in the draw are sixth seed Zheng Qingwen, 11th seed Emma Navarro, 16th seed Leila Fernandez and unseeded Naomi Osaka. There are some exciting first-round matches here, including Osaka taking on Angelique Kerber and Fernandez taking on Karolina Muchova. And after Rybakina’s elimination, Osaka has an excellent chance of making the quarter-finals.
Osaka could face sixth-seeded Zheng Qingwen or 11th-seeded Emma Navarro in the quarterfinals. Naomi is a good clay-court player and can beat any of them and secure a spot in the Olympic semifinals.
Osaka nearly knocked out Swiatek in the second round at Roland Garros, so we could be in for an epic showdown at the Olympics.
Semi-final predictions: Iga Swiatek will beat Naomi Osaka.
Lower half:
Ranked players: (2) Coco Gauff, (4) Jasmine Paolini, (5) Jessica Pegula, (7) Maria Sakkari, (9) Barbora Krejcikova, (12) Marta Kostiuk, (13) Donna Vekic, (14) Beatrice Addad Maia
Expected semi-final: Coco Gauff vs Jasmin Paolini
Analysis: This part of the Paris Olympics draw features a strong lineup of players, including second seeds Coco Gauff, Jasmine Paolini, Jessica Pegula and Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova. Gauff has been given a fairly favorable draw and should advance to the quarterfinals with relative ease. The 20-year-old could face Bianca Andreescu, Marta Kostiuk, Donna Vekic and Maria Sakkari and should be able to beat them all.
In the other half of the draw, Jasmine Paolini could well face Jessica Pegula or Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova. The Italian has reached back-to-back Grand Slam finals and, given her draw, should easily qualify for the quarter-finals of the Paris Olympics, although tennis players such as Beatrice Addad Maia and Mirra Andreeva should not be ruled out.
Jasmine Paolini is likely to avenge her Wimbledon final defeat and beat the Czech to reach the semi-finals at the Paris Olympics. The Italian’s good form should also allow her to beat Coco Gauff and reach another final.
Semi-final predictions: Jasmine Paolini will defeat Coco Gauff.
Bronze Medal Match: Coco Gauff will beat Naomi Osaka. Gold Medal Match: Iga Swiatek will defeat Jasmine Paolini.
Vyacheslav Gorbachev, Athletistic
Source: Sport

I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.