Kerber faces Osaka in first round; Rybakina withdraws

Two of this year’s most high-profile comebacks will meet of the Paris Olympic Games, where the draw has pitted former World No.1s Angelique Kerber and Naomi Osaka against each other in the first round.

Paris Olympic Games: Scores | Draws | Order of play

The matchup was revealed less than an hour after Kerber, the 2016 Rio de Janeiro silver medalist, announced that the Olympics would be the final tournament of her career. The German leads the head-to-head against Osaka 4-2 overall, though Osaka won their most recent encounter 6-2, 6-3 in the second round of Miami 2022. This will be their first meeting on clay.

The winner of the clash between Kerber and Osaka could have originally faced No.3 seed Elena Rybakina in the second round. However, the Kazakhstani — the fourth-placed player at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 — withdrew after the draw was made. French No.1 Caroline Garcia will take her place as the No.17 seed, starting against Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian with the winner taking on Kerber or Osaka.

Click here to view the full draw. Here’s how it breaks down by quarter.

First quarter

No.1 seed Iga Swiatek tops the draw, and opens against Irina-Camelia Begu. The Pole, who reached the Tokyo second round in 2021 on her Olympic debut, is projected to face No.15 seed Diana Shnaider in the third round. Shnaider is fresh off her third title of the year in Budapest last week — a result that completed the surface sweep of WTA trophies on clay, grass and hard courts for the 20-year-old.

In the quarterfinals, Swiatek is projected to face American No.8 seed Danielle Collins, who is contesting her first Olympic Games in the final year of her career. Collins opens against Germany’s Laura Siegemund. Also present in the top quarter is No.10 seed Jelena Ostapenko, who starts against Colombia’s Camila Osorio and is projected to face Collins in the third round. The Latvian holds a 4-0 career record over Swiatek, but lost in the first round of both the Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo Olympics.

Former World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki will face Mayar Sherif in the first round, and the winner will take on either Collins or Siegemund. Wozniacki wil lbe contesting her fourth Olympic Games; the Dane’s best performance so far was a quarterfinal run at London 2012.

First-round matches to watch: Linda Noskova vs. Wang Xiyu, Elisabetta Cocciaretto vs. [15] Diana Schneider, [10] Jelena Ostapenko vs. [ITF] Camila Osorio, [ITF] Mayar Sherif vs. [ITF] Caroline Wozniacki, Laura Siegemund vs. [8] Danielle Collins

Second quarter

The second quarter is stacked even beyond Osaka, Kerber and Garcia landing in such close proximity to each other. Whoever emerges from that is projected to face No.16 seed and former US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez in the third round. However, Fernandez has her own tough opener to contend with in the form of 2023 Roland Garros finalist Karolina Muchova. The Czech only returned from wrist surgery last month, but was a finalist in Palermo last week in just her third tournament back. Muchova will be making her Olympic debut; Fernandez reached the second round of Tokyo in 2021.

No.6 seed Zheng Qinwen enjoyed a return to form in Palermo as well, defeating Muchova in a thrilling final to defend her title. Originally projected to face Rybakina in the quarterfinals, the Chinese No.1 is now the only Top 10 player in the second quarter, and she will no longer have to start against home favorite Garcia. Instead, Zheng will face Australian alternate Daria Saville in the first round, and is slated to face American No.11 seed and recent Wimbledon quarterfinalist Emma Navarro in the third round.

First-round matches to watch: [SR] Naomi Osaka vs. [SR] Angelique Kerber, [SR] Karolina Muchova vs. [16] Leylah Fernandez, Daria Saville vs. [6] Zheng Qinwen

Third quarter

The third quarter is headed by Roland Garros and Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini, the No.4 seed. The Italian opens against Ana Bogdan, and could face a rematch of her Roland Garros semifinal against Mirra Andreeva in the second round. Andreeva, 17, is the youngest competitor in the singles competition this year, and starts against Poland’s Magda Linette.

Paolini is projected to face American No.5 seed Jessica Pegula, who opens against Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic, in the quarterfinals. Both Paolini and Pegula lost in the first round of Tokyo in 2021 on their Olympic debuts.

Also present in the third quarter is Tokyo bronze medalist Elina Svitolina, the only previous Olympic singles medalist in the draw aside from Kerber. The Ukrainian faces Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima in the first round, with Pegula potentially lying ahead for the winner.

No.9 seed and freshly-crowned Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova is projected to face Pegula in the third round. The Czech was the Tokyo doubles gold medalist alongside Katerina Siniakova, and reached the third round of the singles event. She opens against Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo.

First-round matches to watch: [5] Jessica Pegula vs. Viktorija Golubic, Sara Sorribes Tormo vs. [9] Barbora Krejcikova, [14] Beatriz Haddad Maia vs. Varvara Gracheva, Magda Linette vs. Mirra Andreeva

Fourth quarter

The bottom quarter of the draw contains two WTA players who have received the honor of being their nation’s flag-bearer in the Olympic opening ceremony. American No.2 seed Coco Gauff heads the section, and will start her first Olympic Games against Ajla Tomljanovic. Danka Kovinic, who will carry the flag of Montenegro, opens against Gauff’s projected quarterfinal opponent, Greek No.7 seed Maria Sakkari.

Gauff is slated to face Croatian No.13 seed Donna Vekic, fresh off her first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon, in the third round. However, Vekic — who reached the third round of Tokyo in 2021 — will potentially have to get past former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu in the second round. The Canadian, who opens against Denmark’s Clara Tauson, will be making her Olympic debut.

First-round matches to watch: Yulia Putintseva vs. [12] Marta Kostyuk, [SR] Bianca Andreescu vs. Clara Tauson, [ITF] Maria Lourdes Carle vs. Tatjana Maria, Ajla Tomljanovic vs. [2] Coco Gauff