Tennis at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's singles

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Women's singles
Tennis at the 2020 Summer Olympics
ChampionSwitzerland Belinda Bencic
Runner-upCzech Republic Markéta Vondroušová
Final score7–5, 2–6, 6–3
Events
Singles men women
Doubles men women mixed
← 2016 · Summer Olympics · 2024 →
Women's singles
at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad
Tennis pictogram.svg
Olympic tennis pictogram
VenueAriake Coliseum
Dates24–31 July 2021
Competitors64 from 35 nations
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Belinda Bencic
 Switzerland
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Markéta Vondroušová
 Czech Republic
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Elina Svitolina
 Ukraine
← 2016
 →

The women's singles tennis tournament at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo was held at the Ariake Coliseum in Kōtō from 24 July to 31 July 2021. There were 64 competitors in the tournament.

Monica Puig was the reigning champion after winning gold at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, but she did not defend her title after withdrawing to recover from her shoulder surgery.[1] 2016 silver medalist Angelique Kerber had also withdrawn prior to the tournament for rest.[2] Defending bronze medalist Petra Kvitová attended her third consecutive Olympics singles tournament but was defeated in the second round by Alison Van Uytvanck.

Belinda Bencic defeated Markéta Vondroušová in the final, 7–5, 2–6, 6–3, to win the gold medal in the event. Bencic became the first Swiss woman to win a medal in tennis singles at the Summer Olympics.[3] In the bronze medal match, Elina Svitolina of Ukraine defeated Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, 1–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–4. It was Ukraine's first medal in tennis history at the Olympic Games.[4]

Background[]

This was the 14th appearance of the women's singles tennis. A women's event was held only once during the first three Games (only men's tennis was played in 1896 and 1904), but has been held at every Olympics for which there was a tennis tournament since 1908. Tennis was not a medal sport from 1928 to 1984, though there were demonstration events in 1968 and 1984.[5]

This was the first Olympic tournament since 1996 not to feature the Williams sisters in the draw after Serena withdrew for family commitments and Venus's ranking had not been high enough to qualify for the team.[6][7] Of the top players in the annual race to the year-end WTA Finals, the top nine appeared at the tournament, with 15 of the top 20 ranked players overall attending the Olympics. Among the top players to withdraw prior to the Games were Sofia Kenin, Serena Williams, Bianca Andreescu, Simona Halep, Victoria Azarenka,[8] and Coco Gauff.[9]

This was the final career singles tournament of former world No. 4 and French Open semifinalist Kiki Bertens, who had announced her retirement from the sport at the conclusion of this tournament.[10] She lost to Vondroušová in the first round; her final career match was in the second round of the doubles tournament, where she and Demi Schuurs lost to Veronika Kudermetova and Elena Vesnina.

Egypt saw a player qualify in women's singles for the first time in Mayar Sherif. France made its 13th appearance, most among nations, having missed only the 1908 Games in London, when only British players competed.

Qualification[]

Main article: Tennis at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Each National Olympic Committee (NOC) can enter up to four players. Nations had been limited to four players in the event since the 2000 Games. Qualification for the women's singles is primarily through the WTA ranking list of 14 June 2021. An additional restriction is that players had to have been part of a nominated team for three Billie Jean King Cup events between 2017 and 2020 (with some exceptions). There are 64 quota places available for women's singles.[11]

The first 56 are assigned through the world ranking.[11]

There are six places available through continental qualification: four through continental tournaments (two in the 2019 Pan American Games, one in the 2018 Asian Games, and one in the 2019 African Games) and two through continent-restricted world ranking (one each for Europe and Oceania, which must come from NOCs with no other qualified competitors). The four continental tournament places take precedence over the world ranking, so the winners (Nadia Podoroska, Verónica Cepede Royg, Mayar Sherif, and Wang Qiang) are not counted toward the 56 (but are counted toward the four-per-nation limit). One place was guaranteed to the host nation Japan.[11]

In an unusual career accomplishment qualification process, one spot is reserved for a former Olympic or Grand Slam champion that has not qualified through the current world rankings. The player must have won an Olympic gold medal or a Grand Slam singles final, be within the top 300 ranked players, and be from a nation that has not already qualified four players. If multiple players meet those criteria, the one with the most titles qualifies; if still tied, the highest ranked player qualifies. If no players meet those criteria, an additional place (57th or 58th) is added to the ranking.[11] For the 2020 tournament, the 'career wild card' quota was taken by 2011 US Open singles champion Samantha Stosur (Venus Williams was not eligible due to the United States already having four players and defending champion Monica Puig was expecting to be in the entry list but withdrew due to injury).[12]

Competition format[]

The competition was a single-elimination tournament with a bronze medal match. Matches were best-of-3 sets. A tiebreak is played in all sets reaching 6–6, including the last set of a match.

Schedule[]

The competition is held over eight days from 24 July to 31 July. Times given are the start of tennis sessions, though the women's singles shares courts with other tennis events.[13]

July
24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
11:00 11:00 11:00 11:00 11:00 15:00 15:00
Round of 64 Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Bronze medal match
Gold medal match

All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

Seeds[]

01.    Ashleigh Barty (AUS) (First round)
02.    Naomi Osaka (JPN) (Third round)
03.    Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) (Second round)
04.    Elina Svitolina (UKR) (Semifinals, bronze medalist)
05.    Karolína Plíšková (CZE) (Third round)
06.    Iga Świątek (POL) (Second round)
07.    Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP) (Quarterfinals)
08.    Barbora Krejčíková (CZE) (Third round)
09.    Belinda Bencic (SUI) (Champion, gold medalist)
10.    Petra Kvitová (CZE) (Second round)
11.    Jennifer Brady (USA) (First round)
12.    Elise Mertens (BEL) (First round)
13.    Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (ROC) (Quarterfinals)
14.    Maria Sakkari (GRE) (Third round)
15.    Elena Rybakina (KAZ) (Semifinals, fourth place)
16.    Kiki Bertens (NED) (First round)

Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.

Draw[]

Key[]

  • Q = Qualifier
  • WC = Wild card
  • LL = Lucky loser
  • Alt = Alternate
  • SE = Special exempt
  • PR = Protected ranking
  • ITF = ITF entry
  • JE = Junior exempt
  • w/o = Walkover
  • r = Retired
  • d = Defaulted
Flag Icon Key
List of National Flags

Finals[]

Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
               
13  Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (ROC) 0 6 3
9  Belinda Bencic (SUI) 6 3 6
9  Belinda Bencic (SUI) 77 4 6
15  Elena Rybakina (KAZ) 62 6 3
15  Elena Rybakina (KAZ) 7 6
7  Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP) 5 1
9  Belinda Bencic (SUI) 7 2 6
 Markéta Vondroušová (CZE) 5 6 3
 Camila Giorgi (ITA) 4 4
4  Elina Svitolina (UKR) 6 6
4  Elina Svitolina (UKR) 3 1 Bronze medal
 Markéta Vondroušová (CZE) 6 6
 Paula Badosa (ESP) 3 0r 15  Elena Rybakina (KAZ) 6 65 4
 Markéta Vondroušová (CZE) 6 0 4  Elina Svitolina (UKR) 1 77 6

Top half[]

Section 1[]

First round Second round Third round Quarterfinals
1  A Barty (AUS) 4 3
 S Sorribes Tormo (ESP) 6 6  S Sorribes Tormo (ESP) 6 6
 F Ferro (FRA) 2 6 6  F Ferro (FRA) 1 4
 A Sevastova (LAT) 6 4 2  S Sorribes Tormo (ESP) 1 3
ITF  A-L Friedsam (GER) 77 6 13  A Pavlyuchenkova (ROC) 6 6
 H Watson (GBR) 65 3 ITF  A-L Friedsam (GER) 1 1
ITF  S Errani (ITA) 0 1 13  A Pavlyuchenkova (ROC) 6 6
13  A Pavlyuchenkova (ROC) 6 6 13  A Pavlyuchenkova (ROC) 0 6 3
9  B Bencic (SUI) 6 6 9  B Bencic (SUI) 6 3 6
 J Pegula (USA) 3 3 9  B Bencic (SUI) 6 6
 M Doi (JPN) 6 6  M Doi (JPN) 2 4
Alt  R Zarazúa (MEX) 3 2 9  B Bencic (SUI) 1 6 6
 LA Fernandez (CAN) 6 3 6 8  B Krejčíková (CZE) 6 2 3
 D Yastremska (UKR) 3 6 0  LA Fernandez (CAN) 2 4
 Z Diyas (KAZ) 2r 8  B Krejčíková (CZE) 6 6
8  B Krejčíková (CZE) 5

Section 2[]

First round Second round Third round Quarterfinals
3  A Sabalenka (BLR) 6 6
 M Linette (POL) 2 1 3  A Sabalenka (BLR) 4 6 63
 C Garcia (FRA) 2 77 3  D Vekić (CRO) 6 3 77
 D Vekić (CRO) 6 62 6  D Vekić (CRO) 63 4
ITF  M Sherif (EGY) 5 61 15  E Rybakina (KAZ) 77 6
 R Peterson (SWE) 7 77  R Peterson (SWE) 2 3
ITF  S Stosur (AUS) 4 2 15  E Rybakina (KAZ) 6 6
15  E Rybakina (KAZ) 6 6 15  E Rybakina (KAZ) 7 6
10  P Kvitová (CZE) 6 6 7  G Muguruza (ESP) 5 1
 J Paolini (ITA) 4 3 10  P Kvitová (CZE) 7 3 0
PR  I Jorović (SRB) 3 2  A Van Uytvanck (BEL) 5 6 6
 A Van Uytvanck (BEL) 6 6  A Van Uytvanck (BEL) 4 1
ITF  V Cepede Royg (PAR) 4 3 7  G Muguruza (ESP) 6 6
ITF  Q Wang (CHN) 6 6 ITF  Q Wang (CHN) 3 0
 V Kudermetova (ROC) 5 5 7  G Muguruza (ESP) 6 6
7  G Muguruza (ESP) 7 7

Bottom half[]

Section 3[]

First round Second round Third round Quarterfinals
5  Ka Plíšková (CZE) 6 6
 A Cornet (FRA) 1 3 5  Ka Plíšková (CZE) 6 60 6
PR  C Suárez Navarro (ESP) 6 6 PR  C Suárez Navarro (ESP) 3 77 1
 O Jabeur (TUN) 4 1 5  Ka Plíšková (CZE) 4 2
 J Ostapenko (LAT) 4 77 4  C Giorgi (ITA) 6 6
PR  E Vesnina (ROC) 6 62 6 PR  E Vesnina (ROC) 3 1
 C Giorgi (ITA) 6 6  C Giorgi (ITA) 6 6
11  J Brady (USA) 3 2  C Giorgi (ITA) 4 4
14  M Sakkari (GRE) 7 6 4  E Svitolina (UKR) 6 6
 A Kontaveit (EST) 5 2 14  M Sakkari (GRE) 6 6
 N Stojanović (SRB) 6 6  N Stojanović (SRB) 1 2
 N Hibino (JPN) 3 3 14  M Sakkari (GRE) 7 3 4
PR  Y Shvedova (KAZ) 5 2r 4  E Svitolina (UKR) 5 6 6
 A Tomljanović (AUS) 7 3  A Tomljanović (AUS) 6 3 4
 L Siegemund (GER) 3 7 4 4  E Svitolina (UKR) 4 6 6
4  E Svitolina (UKR) 6 5 6

Section 4[]

First round Second round Third round Quarterfinals
6  I Świątek (POL) 6 6
PR  M Barthel (GER) 2 2 6  I Świątek (POL) 3 64
 P Badosa (ESP) 64 6 6  P Badosa (ESP) 6 77
 K Mladenovic (FRA) 77 3 0  P Badosa (ESP) 6 6
 Y Putintseva (KAZ) 64 3r ITF  N Podoroska (ARG) 2 3
ITF  N Podoroska (ARG) 77 1 ITF  N Podoroska (ARG) 6 6
 E Alexandrova (ROC) 4 6 6  E Alexandrova (ROC) 1 3
12  E Mertens (BEL) 6 4 4  P Badosa (ESP) 3 0r
16  K Bertens (NED) 4 6 4  M Vondroušová (CZE) 6 0
 M Vondroušová (CZE) 6 3 6  M Vondroušová (CZE) 6 6
ITF  M Buzărnescu (ROU) 60 7 6 ITF  M Buzǎrnescu (ROU) 1 2
 A Riske (USA) 77 5 4  M Vondroušová (CZE) 6 6
 MC Osorio Serrano (COL) 4 1 2  N Osaka (JPN) 1 4
 V Golubic (SUI) 6 6  V Golubic (SUI) 3 2
 S Zheng (CHN) 1 4 2  N Osaka (JPN) 6 6
2  N Osaka (JPN) 6 6

References[]

  1. ^ Maine, D'Arcy (6 June 2021). "Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig to miss Tokyo Games, rest of season after having shoulder surgery". ESPN. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Tokyo 2020: Angelique Kerber latest tennis player to withdraw from Olympic Games". BBC Sport. 15 July 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Tokyo Olympics: Belinda Bencic wins gold but Novak Djokovic leaves with no medals". BBC Sport. 31 July 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  4. ^ Query, Alexander (31 July 2021). "Svitolina wins Ukraine's first-ever Olympic medal in tennis". Kyiv Post. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Singles, Women". Olympedia. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  6. ^ Clarey, Christopher (27 June 2021). "Serena Williams Won't Play at the Tokyo Olympics". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  7. ^ Zaccardi, Nick (29 June 2021). "Venus Williams likely to miss Olympics for first time since 1996". NBC Sports. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Barty, Osaka headline Tokyo Olympics after entry list finalized". Women's Tennis Association. 19 July 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  9. ^ Madani, Doha (18 July 2021). "Teen tennis star Coco Gauff tests positive for Covid, will sit out Tokyo Olympics". NBC News. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Former World No. 4 Kiki Bertens announces retirement". Reuters. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Tokyo 2020 – ITF Tennis Qualification System". WTA. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  12. ^ Rogers, Leigh (22 July 2021). "Stosur set to create history for Australia". Tennis Australia.
  13. ^ "Tennis Competition Schedule". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2021.

External links[]

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