Gauff Maintains Olympics Race Lead Ahead Of Sabalenka And Swiatek

Coco Gauff remained in the driver's seat in the Olympics Race, ahead of the world's top two players, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek.

The young American can stretch her lead over second-placed Sabalenka at the Qatar Open. The Belarusian has withdrawn from the first WTA 1000 event of the season.

Gauff, who has 5,855 points, edged Sabalenka by precisely 100 points. The 19-year-old has never played at the Olympic Games. She missed the chance to represent her country in Tokyo in 2021 due to a positive Covid-19 test.

Swiatek, however, can mathematically overtake Gauff and take control of the race, but the outcome is not within her control. The Pole is third on the list, with 4,990 points ahead of her Doha title defense this week. Swiatek was knocked out in the second round at the Tokyo Olympics.

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Jessica Pegula, currently on an injury hiatus, is fourth, with Marketa Vondrousova down in fifth. Qinwen Zheng is ranked sixth, but the Chinese star has qualified for the Olympic tennis tournament by winning the Asian Games last year.

Elena Rybakina is assured to be Kazakhstan's No. 1 player and is seventh in the race. She lost the bronze medal match to Elina Svitolina at the last Olympic Games. Ons Jabeur is the highest-ranked African player, currently ranked 8th in the race.

Meanwhile, the 29-year-old Svitolina will be looking to do even better this summer. She is currently in the running to qualify (20th) and potentially as Ukraine's top-ranked player and flagbearer.

The cut-off entry is 56, which means some countries with many representatives in the world's Top 56 of the race can only choose their four-best ranked players.

Countries like the Czech Republic and the USA might have to leave out several of their most talented players, who meet the ranking criteria but not the stipulation.

The defending women's gold medalist is Belinda Bencic. However, the Swiss is on a maternity break, and it is unlikely she will be ready to compete by then. The Olympics tennis tournament will kick off on July 27th and run till August 4th at Stade Roland Garros.

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Swiatek Keeps World No. 1 Spot Under Control In Latest WTA Rankings

2024 Olympics Women's Race as of February 12, 2024: