For fans of tennis and the Olympic Games, Monday 10 June – the day after Roland Garros – is an important milestone.  

That week’s rankings will determine direct acceptances into the Paris 2024 Olympic Tennis Event. 

So we’ll know then exactly who will be competing on the Paris clay for an Olympic medal, right? 

If only it were that simple! 

As well as their ranking, there are a further set of criteria that all tennis players must meet to make it to the Games – more on that shortly. But just because a player has met the criteria doesn’t mean they will definitely be competing for the nation in Paris. 

Nor does it mean that a player who hasn’t achieved the required ranking definitely won’t be able to go for gold. 

Confused? Let’s take a closer look at the process… 

How do athletes qualify for the Olympic Tennis Event? 

First things first: Every tennis player competing at the Olympic Games has to satisfy a few key criteria in order to be deemed eligible to play: 

- They have to be in good standing with their National Association and the International Tennis Federation. 

- They have to have represented their nation enough times in Davis Cup or Billie Jean King Cup 

- They have to be aged 14 or over for men, and 15 or over for women 

If an athlete does not meet these criteria, they can apply for an exemption to the ITF Olympic Committee. Find out more about the eligibility criteria here

For the purposes of this explanation, let’s assume every player is eligible. 

Each nation may nominate a maximum of 12 players – six for the men’s draws, six for the women’s draws. The singles events at the Olympic Games will both feature 64 players in the first round, with a maximum of four athletes per country. For a nation like USA, who currently have eight women and seven men ranked in the world’s Top 60, this means they will have players with high rankings that nonetheless do not qualify for the Games. 

There are 56 direct acceptances to the singles draw based on the ATP and WTA rankings published on Monday 10 June. This means that the 56 highest-ranked ATP and WTA players, keeping in mind the maximum of four per nation in each draw, will be offered a place providing they are eligible. 

Then there are six Final Qualification Places, one Host Country place and one Universality Place. This is where it gets a little complicated… 

What are Final Qualification Places? 

There are two types of Final Qualification Place:    

1. Continental 

Athletes can qualify for the Olympic Tennis Event based on their performance at the recent Pan American Games, the Asian Games and the African Games. Two men’s and women’s singles places are available from the Pan American Games, and one per singles event from the Asian and African Games. 

Any athlete qualifying on a Continental Qualification place needs to be ranked in the ATP or WTA Top 400 on 10 June to qualify, and they must also be part of the quota of four athletes per country. If an athlete qualifies by both continental qualification and direct acceptance, the former will apply.  

Zheng Qinwen, is a prime example here, with the 2023 Asian Games winner and current Top 10 star likely to qualify on both counts. 

2. Gold medallist/Grand Slam champion 

Two places are available in each singles draw for any athlete who has previously won an Olympic gold medal in singles or a Grand Slam singles title that has not qualified by direct acceptance, provided they are ranked in the Top 400 and don’t push their NOC quota over that magic four-athlete threshold. 

If more than two athletes meet these criteria, the place will be offered to the player(s) with the highest number of titles (with a gold medal representing one title). If two players have the same number of titles, the place will be given to the higher-ranked player on 10 June.

Host Country Place 

If the host nation is not represented in either singles draw, then the highest-ranked athlete from the host nation will receive a Host Country place. 
 
Given we’re in France, who at the time of writing boast four men and three women inside the Top 50, this is unlikely to be required and will be reallocated to the next highest-ranked player according to the rankings.

Protected/Special rankings

You may have noticed from the previous point around Final Qualification places that a serial-winning Grand Slam champion could miss out on qualification if, say, their ranking on 10 June was lower than four other players from the same nation who all qualified by direct acceptance.

In this example, and we'll use Rafael Nadal here as it may indeed apply to him, the door is not closed to qualification. If Nadal were not among the top 4 Spaniards come 10 June, he could use his protected ranking to ensure he does feature among those four. He would, however, also need to apply for an exemption to the ITF Olympic Committee (given he has not played Davis Cup since 2019), but would be hopeful with his lengthy time out through injury and an enviable Olympic and Davis Cup record to point to.

Doubles is different 

The men’s and women’s doubles draws at Paris 2024 will feature 32 teams, a team being a pair of athletes from the same nation. There is a maximum of two teams per nation – we’re back to the magic number of four. 

The doubles draw is, in some ways, easier than singles. Entry is based on combined singles or doubles rankings, and there are 31 direct acceptance places and one host country place. The host country place is only used if a team from the host country does not obtain a direct acceptance quota place.

Now we get into the detail. Athletes ranked in the ATP and WTA doubles Top 10 on 10 June will get direct entry into the doubles event if they are nominated by their country. Those players need to be able to team up with a player from their country ranked in the Top 300 in either singles or doubles. After that places are allocated by combined ranking, and then by singles priority. And bear in mind, a country can only nominate a maximum of six players for each of the men’s and women’s events.

Mixed doubles

Mixed doubles teams will be selected only from players that have been accepted for the singles and/or doubles events and are therefore already on site.

The highest-ranked nominated team from the host country will qualify directly, while the remaining 15 spots in the draw will be made up by teams from 15 different nations. Direct acceptance places will be allocated to the highest-ranked teams based on the combined ranking of each pair.

What happens after the ranking cut off on 10 June? 

When the ATP and WTA rankings are updated following Roland Garros, the ITF will write to all relevant National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and/or National Associations by Wednesday 12 June to confirm which athletes have qualified based on the criteria outlined above. 

The NOCs and National Associations have until Wednesday 19 June to confirm whether their qualified athletes will be taking part in the Olympic Games. This is also the date by which nominations need to be submitted for the men’s and women’s doubles events. 

What happens if an NOC, National Association or player doesn’t accept a place at the Olympic Games? 

If a player or an NOC/National Association opts not to accept a place, then the ITF will reallocate their spot. All slots must be allocated by Monday 8 July. 

How does the reallocation process work? 

Direct Acceptance places will be reallocated to the next highest-ranked athletes based on the 10 June rankings. 

Final Qualification Places may also need to be reallocated. If a host nation already has representation in singles and doubles, then the Host Nation place will go to the next-highest-ranked player based on the 10 June rankings, respecting the maximum number of entries per country. 

Continental Qualification Places are a bit different. Those places coming from the Regional Games route will be offered to the next highest-placed athlete in that respective tournament (up to and including losing semi-finalists only). So, for example, if the player who won gold at the Asian Games does not accept or becomes ineligible for their place – because their ranking is too low, or there is already a full quota of athletes from their country – then that place is offered to the Asian Games silver medallist, and so on. 

If no athletes qualify via the Regional Games route, those places will be allocated to the next-highest-ranked player based on the 10 June rankings, respecting the maximum number of entries per country. 

If no athletes qualify by virtue of being a former Olympic gold medallist in singles or a Grand Slam singles champion (who must also be ranked inside the Top 400), those places will go to the next highest-ranked athlete on the 10 June rankings, respecting the maximum number of entries per country. 

When will we know the final entry list? 

Taking into account all of the above, it’s clear to see there will be plenty of back and forth on this even after Roland Garros is done and dusted. The deadline by which all entries need to be submitted to Paris 2024 is 8 July, but, all being well, the final entry list should be announced in the week of 1 July – on this page here.