UK: 18+ USA: 21+ | Begambleaware.org | T&Cs apply | Play Responsibly
Ready for the Paris Olympics 2024? There’s not very long to go, and all eyes are now turning to the red clay courts of Roland Garros once again. Naturally, this is a rather unique adjustment to the regular schedule of the professional tour.
At this point, we’d usually be looking ahead to the North American hard-court swing, especially now that Wimbledon and the grass-court season are in the rear-view mirror. But because the Olympics are on the schedule for 2024, we’re heading back to the French capital for the second time. It should be a thrilling event, too, even if it perhaps doesn’t hold the same significance as slams.
Anyway, why am I telling you this? Well, I’m telling you this to introduce you to the event that is right around the corner. And to ensure I give you the best guide I can, I will cover the schedule, format, main contenders, who the venue suits, and more today. By the time we are done, you’ll be as excited as I am for the Paris Olympics 2024 for both the men’s and women’s events!
Paris 2024 Olympics – tournament overview
Contents
The City of Light is the official location for the 2024 Olympics. Of course, the city is hosting a range of events, and it all begins on July 26th. As for the tennis at the Olympics, this isn’t set to begin until July 27th, and it will run until August 4th. During this time period, there’s plenty of exciting tennis that will unfold too.
In fact, as you may or may not know, the 2024 Paris Olympics is set to host five separate tennis events at Roland Garros:
- Men’s singles – 64 draw
- Women’s singles – 64 draw
- Men’s doubles – 32 draw
- Women’s doubles – 32 draw
- Mixed doubles – 16 draw
Between these five events, there will be five gold medals, five silver medals, and five bronze medals dished out between the various competitors. And as mentioned above, sure, the tournament isn’t quite as prestigious as Grand Slams or even 1000-level tournaments. However, there’s a ton of national and personal pride on the line, and history will be made by a few players.
This is all the more exciting in 2024, given that talk of the changing of the guard, Swiatek’s clay court dominance and Nadal’s imminent retirement are dominating the headlines. Naturally, this puts added pressure on the line for those involved. And for us tennis fans, it means that we’ve got plenty of drama and top-level tennis to tune into!
But since this is the Olympics, there’s no prize money, rankings points, or anything else on offer besides a medal. This is obviously quite different to the events that the players involved compete in throughout the rest of the year.
Interesting facts and key points about the Paris 2024 Olympics
As we approach the Paris 2024 Olympics quickly, there’s naturally plenty of talk about the competitors, event facts, and more. Therefore, I didn’t want to leave these points out from my guide to tennis at the Olympics in Paris this year.

So, on that note, let me get right into some of the more important details for the tournament.
First Olympic clay court event since 1992
Perhaps the biggest talking point about the Paris Olympics is that it’s set to be a clay court event. This means some of the clay court specialists might have a sniff at a medal, whereas this wouldn’t be the case if the event was played on hard courts or grass. Of course, this may also suit a certain player by the name of Rafael Nadal.
But interestingly, this is the first Olympic tennis event to be played on clay since 1992. Back then, the Olympics was played in Barcelona, but it hasn’t been played on clay for more than 30 years at this point!
The format for the individual events
Unlike Grand Slam tournaments, the men will not compete using the best-of-five format when they hit the courts at Roland Garros this year. Instead, they will follow the best-of-three format with a seven-point tie-break to decide the match if it goes to 6-6 in the deciding set. This is consistent with the women’s events throughout the year.
However, for the doubles events, rather than a full third set being played, the competitors will play a 10-point tie-break to decide the match.
First Olympic event at a Grand Slam venue since 2012
I’ve mentioned Roland Garros a few times already. And as I’m sure you know, Roland Garros is the venue for the French Open each and every year. This makes the Paris 2024 Olympics somewhat special compared with previous years. Additionally, it’s the first time that the Olympics will be played at a Grand Slam venue since London 2012.
That year, the event was played at Wimbledon, and Andy Murray was the champion!
Last chances for legends of the game
Coming back to the main stories surrounding the 2024 Olympics, I’ve got to mention what’s at stake for the legends of the game. For Novak Djokovic, this could well be his last chance to score a gold medal for his country – pretty much the only thing that has eluded him in his career. As for Rafael Nadal, this is perhaps the best opportunity possible to wrap up his career with a gold medal at Roland Garros.
What a way to finish his story if he was able to achieve this at the venue that turned him into a legend!
Main contenders for the Paris 2024 Olympics
Lastly, I’d like to quickly mention the top contenders for the 2024 Paris Olympics before the event begins on July 27th. Starting with the women’s singles, I believe that Iga Swiatek and Barbora Krejcikova are the main contenders this year. Swiatek has won Roland Garros three times, while Krejcikova has just won Wimbledon. She’s also made the finals of the French Open before.

As for the men, it’s a little more complicated. Carlos Alcaraz has to be the main contender given he’s won the French Open and Wimbledon back to back in 2024. But Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal clearly have added motivation to strive for gold this year. As for who will secure gold, we will have to wait and see!
Subscribe to Punditfeed on Google News for all the latest updates from the world of sports!