The 60th Dena Duel, the "Lucky Charm" of the 2024 Paris Olympics

The tennis events at the 2024 Paris Olympics will take place from July 27 to August 4 at Roland Garros, the iconic venue of the French Open. The competition will feature five events: men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. According to the draw released on July 25, Serbia’s tennis superstar Novak Djokovic and four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz are seeded No. 1 and No. 2 in the men’s singles event, respectively.

Men's Singles Upper Half: Djokovic will face Australian Ebden in the first round, while Nadal, who starts against Fucsovics, could potentially clash with Djokovic in the second round. Nadal has been drawn into the quarterfinal section of the upper half, placing him just one matchup away from Djokovic. If both players advance through their opening-round matches, they’ll renew their historic "Djokovic-Nadal" rivalry for the 60th time in the second round—currently, Djokovic holds a narrow 30-29 lead in their head-to-head meetings.

Men's singles bottom half: Alcaraz will face Habib in the first round, with a potential second-round matchup against British player Norrie. As the No. 4 seed, Medvedev will take on Australian player Rinky Hijikata in the opening round. Meanwhile, No. 6 seed Ruud and No. 5 seed Dimitrov are set to clash in the quarterfinals—Ruud against Medvedev, and Dimitrov against Alcaraz.

Chinese player Zhang Zhizhen has been drawn into the upper half, specifically the fourth quarter of the draw. In the first round, he’ll face his ATP Tour doubles partner, Czech player Machac. If Zhang manages to advance, he’ll likely square off against this year’s French Open men’s singles runner-up, Zverev—though the two recently clashed at the WTA 500 Hamburg event, where Zhang was clearly outmatched. Overall, the men’s singles draw in tennis is always unpredictable, as factors like a player’s current form, the specific court conditions, and even the weather can dramatically influence how matches unfold.

On the women's singles side, this year's Olympics has drawn in many of the world's top players, including world No. 1 Swiatek, as well as several other top-10 contenders such as Gauff, Paolini, Pegula, Zheng Qinwen, Sakkari, Collins, and Kvitova, among others.

China’s women’s tennis team has four players competing in the singles event: Zheng Qinwen, Wang Xiyu, Wang Xinyu, and Yuan Yue. As the No. 6 seed, Zheng Qinwen is placed in a relatively favorable position on the draw. After several lineup changes, her first-round opponent has finally been confirmed as Italian veteran Errani. Other potential opponents include Navarro and Garcia, among others.

Zheng Qinwen has recently shown signs of a strong comeback, successfully defending her WTA 250 Palermo singles title and demonstrating both excellent competitive form and mental resilience. At the Olympics, she’ll need to maintain this momentum while fine-tuning her mindset to handle even tougher, more intense matches.

Wang Xiyu's first-round opponent is Czech player Noskova, with the two players previously facing each other (Wang Xiyu currently leads 1-0 in their head-to-head record). Wang Xinyu will take on Germany's Kopach in the first round, where she holds a commanding 2-0 lead in their head-to-head matchup. She could potentially face Krejcikova in the second round. Meanwhile, Yuan Yue’s first-round opponent is Russia’s Alexandrova, and she might go up against No. 7 seed Sakkari in the second round.

The 2024 Paris Olympics tennis men's and women's singles draw reveals a competitive and unpredictable tournament landscape. Chinese players, overall, have faced middling luck in the draw, but that’s precisely what makes Olympic tennis so thrilling—its inherent unpredictability. Here’s hoping for even more exhilarating matchups and unforgettable moments on the quadrennial Olympic stage!