For fans of tennis and the Olympic Games, all eyes have been on Monday 14 June – the day after Roland Garros, when the rankings are released which determine direct acceptances into the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Tennis Event.

So now the day has come, we know who will be competing at the Ariake Stadium in just over one month’s time, 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 heading to Tokyo.

Confused? Let’s work our way through 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 lodge an appeal with the ITF Olympic Committee. Find out more about the eligibility criteria

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 nine women ranked in the world’s Top 50, there will be 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 14 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 eight Final Qualification Places. This is where it gets a little complicated…

What are Final Qualification Places?

There are three types of Final Qualification Place:

1. Continental

Athletes can qualify for the Olympic Tennis Event based on their performance at the 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.

In order to ensure geographical representation, there is one place per region for athletes from nations in both Europe and Oceania who otherwise would not feature.

Any athlete qualifying on a Continental Qualification place needs to be ranked in the ATP or WTA Top 300, and must also take into account the National Olympic Committee’s (NOC) quota of four singles players per country.

2. Gold medallist/Grand Slam champion

One place is available in each 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 300 and don’t push their NOC quota over that magic four-singles-players threshold.

If more than one athlete meets these criteria, the place will be offered to the player 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 14 June.

3. Host nation

If the host nation is not represented in either singles draw, then the highest-ranked athlete from the host nation will receive a Host Nation place.

Doubles is different

The men’s and women’s doubles draws at Tokyo 2020 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. There are 31 Direct Acceptance places and one Host Nation place, to ensure representation from the hosts should they only have one player in singles, for example. There is a caveat: the combined ranking of both players in a Host Nation place team cannot exceed 300.

Now we get into the detail. Athletes ranked in the ATP and WTA doubles Top 10 on 14 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 partner from their country ranked in the Top 300 in either singles or doubles. And bear in mind, a country can only nominate a maximum of six players for each of the men’s and women’s events.

So, what happens now?

With the ATP and WTA rankings updated following Roland Garros, the ITF will write to all relevant NOCs and/or National Associations by Wednesday 16 June to confirm which athletes have qualified based on the criteria outlined above.

The NOCs and National Associations have until Tuesday 22 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. The reallocation process will be completed by Monday 5 July.

How does the reallocation process work?

Direct Acceptance places will be reallocated to the next highest-ranked athletes based on the 14 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 14 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. 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 14 June rankings, respecting the maximum number of entries per country.

If a Continental Qualification place for athletes from Europe and Oceania needs to be reallocated, it will be offered to the next-highest-ranked player from those continents, as long as they are ranked inside the Top 300. If no athletes meet these criteria, the place will be offered to the next-highest-ranked player, regardless of their Continent of origin.

If no athletes qualify by virtue of being a former Olympic gold medallist in singles or a Grand Slam singles champion, those places will go to the next highest-ranked athlete on the 14 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 for the next few weeks. The deadline by which all entries need to be submitted to Tokyo 2020 is 5 July, but, all being well, the final entry list should be announced by the end of June.