Swiatek Increases Lead Over Gauff And Sabalenka In Olympics Race

A few weeks ago, Iga Swiatek took control of the WTA Olympics Race, and as of this week, she has strengthened her grip on the No. 1 spot.

The Pole won Indian Wells for a second time in a rematch of the 2022 final last Sunday. She blasted past Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-0, and clocked 1000 points, taking her tally to 7,380.

For context, the 2024 Paris Olympics tennis tournament will have a 64-player draw for both the men's and women's events competing in singles. Of the 64 players, 56 will qualify based on their actual ranking on June 10th, 2024, which will be in line with the Olympics Race.

This race began compiling points in mid-June 2023, and as of March 18th, Swiatek has accrued the most points and won the most titles. Coco Gauff has dropped to second place with 6,470 points.

Aryna Sabalenka returned to winning ways in Indian Wells but did not progress beyond the round of 16. She has to settle for third spot with 5,885 points. She will compete as a neutral athlete because the rules restrict Russian and Belarusian players from playing under their flags.

Jessica Pegula lost to Belinda Bencic, the eventual gold medalist in Tokyo, during the last Olympics. She is keen to improve on her first-round exit from three years ago. Currently, Pegula ranks fourth and is the USA's no. 2 player.

Elena Rybakina could overtake her should the Kazakh record a stronger run in Miami. Defending silver medalist Marketa Vondrousova sits in sixth place but won't be able to add any points in Miami after withdrawing from the event following the loss of her grandfather.

Qinwen Zheng (7th) has already qualified for the Paris Olympics courtesy of winning the Asian Games last year. Maria Sakkar, Ons Jabeur and Jelena Ostapenko complete the Top 10.

The 2024 Paris Olympics tennis tournament will be played on the clay courts of Stade Roland Garros from July 27th to August 4th.