Remember when tennis wasn’t supposed to be an Olympic sport, and the players didn’t care about it? Then came London 2012 and Wimbledon, and suddenly it became cool. This time, they’ll be playing from Roland Garros. So, basically, a second French Open. This isn’t a bad thing, it’s a great thing! What an awesome way to give the Olympic tournament more credibility, by playing it on a Grand Slam course! Yeah, that means they’ll be playing there twice in one year, but it’ll be well worth it.
Tokyo 2020 results:
| Medal | Men’s singles | Country |
| Gold | Alexander Zverev | Germany |
| Silver | Karen Khachanov | Russia |
| Bronze | Pablo Carreno Busta | Spain |
| Medal | Men’s doubles | Country |
| Gold | Nikola Mektic Mate Pavic | Croatia |
| Silver | Marin Cilic Ivan Dodig | Croatia |
| Bronze | Marcus Daniell Michael Venus | New Zealand |
| Medal | Women’s singles | Country |
| Gold | Belinda Bencic | Switzerland |
| Silver | Marketa Vondrousova | Czech Republic |
| Bronze | Elina Svitolina | Ukraine |
| Medal | Women’s doubles | Country |
| Gold | Barbora Krejcikova Katerina Siniakova | Czech Republic |
| Silver | Belinda Bencic Viktorija Golubic | Switzerland |
| Bronze | Laura Pigossi Luisa Stefani | Brazil |
| Medal | Mixed doubles | Country |
| Gold | Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Andrey Rublev | Russia |
| Silver | Elena Vesnina Aslan Karatsev | Russia |
| Bronze | Ashleigh Barty John Peers | Australia |
Men’s outlook (as of June 22, 2023):
Rafael Nadal wins, since it’s on clay. Unless he’s not healthy and/or can’t get high enough in the world rankings to qualify, in which case Novak Djokovic wins. There’s not anything else to discuss here.
Update (June 25, 2024):
So, anything change in the world of tennis lately?
Yeah, a lot. Any other year I’d bet the house on Rafael Nadal, but now I’m not sure I’d even bet my bathroom. He is near retirement and very banged-up. As much as I’d love to see him go out with another gold medal, I just don’t think he’s going to do it. He will make an emotional farewell, and his competitive career will end shortly afterward.
Women’s outlook (as of June 22, 2023):
With Serena Williams retired, and Russian and Belarusian players in limbo, it’s almost impossible to figure out who’s going to win here. Will an American come out of nowhere to win the gold? It could happen, but I don’t want to project a gold medal there. The reason being, it’s not very likely, and I’m already forecasting two golds for the U.S. It’d also make the American total look a lot more comfortable than it actually is. If we’re doing projections here – not necessarily predictions – we’ve got to play it safe. So, I’m only giving the USA two gold medals, meaning that any more than two golds means that the United States will gain ground in the standings.
For doubles projections, keep in mind that at this moment, I have absolutely no idea who the doubles teams will be. I’m just going off world rankings and only picking teams from the same country. In this case, fate smiles on the Americans, who get a gold from Coco – who may win multiple medals in Paris.
Update (June 25, 2024):
Iga Swiatek is the clear favorite at this point. I am predicting one Russia/Belarus athlete to win a medal; you have to figure that they’re going to win something at some point to make some kind of controversy. As for mixed doubles, the teams have not been named yet, so I’m just making guesses there.
Projections for Paris 2024:
| Medal | Men’s singles | Country |
| Gold | Carlos Alcaraz | Spain |
| Silver | Novak Djokovic | Serbia |
| Bronze | Jannik Sinner | Italy |
| Medal | Men’s doubles | Country |
| Gold | Marcel Granollers Pablo Carreno Busta | Spain |
| Silver | Rajeev Ram Austin Krajicek | United States |
| Bronze | Matthew Ebden John Peers | Australia |
| Medal | Women’s singles | Country |
| Gold | Iga Swiatek | Poland |
| Silver | Aryna Sabalenka | INA* |
| Bronze | Coco Gauff | United States |
| Medal | Women’s doubles | Country |
| Gold | Jessica Pegula Coco Gauff | United States |
| Silver | Marketa Vondrousova Karolia Muchova | Czech Republic |
| Bronze | Danielle Collins Desirae Krawczyk | United States |
| Medal | Mixed doubles | Country |
| Gold | Jessica Pegula Austin Krajicek | United States |
| Silver | Demi Schuurs Jean-Julien Rojer | Netherlands |
| Bronze | Elixane Lechemia Albano Olivetti | France |
*Individual Neutral Athletes, or in other words, Russia + Belarus.
Projected medal count:
| Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| United States | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Spain | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Poland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Czech Republic | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| INA | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Netherlands | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Serbia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Australia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| France | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Japan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Tommy A. Phillips 