Swiatek Extends Lead Over Gauff And Sabalenka In Olympics Race

Iga Swiatek fell short of completing another three-peat but still increased her lead in the Olympics Race to Paris.

Swiatek’s 10-match undefeated run at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix came to an end when she lost to Elena Rybakina in the semifinal, but she increased her points tally in the race to 7695.

Coco Gauff remained in second place with 6698 points after losing in the quarterfinal in Stuttgart. Aryna Sabalenka is the third player to accumulate at least 6000 points and is in third spot.

Swiatek has virtually locked the top spot, at least for the next fortnight, leaving Gauff and Sabalenka to battle for the second spot in Madrid. Elena Rybakina has replaced Jessica Pegula in fourth place after a triumphant week in Stuttgart, during which she won her third title in 2024.

Tokyo silver medalist Marketa Vondrousova is down in sixth and above Maria Sakkari. China’s Qinwen Zheng has already qualified for the tournament by winning a gold medal at the 2023 Asian Games.

Ons Jabeur and Daria Kasatkina are among the Top 10. A month ago, Danielle Collins didn’t have any hopes of representing her country at the 2024 Paris Olympics. But she has lifted herself into the Top 20 and is now the third-best-ranked American woman in the race.

Collins won back-to-back titles in Miami and Charleston in recent weeks to rise to 13th ahead of compatriots Emma Navarro and Madison Keys. One country can only be represented by four of its best-ranked players in the Top 56. So, we might see some fierce competition between the three.

Stuttgart finalist Marta Kostyuk moved up to 16th after scoring three wins over Top 10 players this past week. She is now Ukraine’s No. 1 player, ahead of Elina Svitolina who is in 25th spot.

The top-ranked British woman is Katie Boulter, who occupies the 26th spot in the race with less than two months before the cycle closes. This year’s Olympics tennis tournament will be played on the clay courts of Roland Garros, beginning on July 27th.

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