Tennis will be one of the most highly anticipated Olympic events at Paris 2024, with a superstar cast of players targeting gold.
From stars new to old, the competition will be fierce in both the men’s and women’s tournaments.
Alcaraz is the clear favourite for gold in the men’s singles, having won the 2024 French Open at Roland-Garros – which doubles up as the same clay court venue for the Paris Olympics tournament.
He also stormed to a fourth career Grand Slam title at Wimbledon on July 14, beating Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the final.
That victory made it back-to-back Wimbledon crowns for the Spaniard, who has now earned nearly $35m in prize money – all at the tender age of 21.
Born in Alicante in the southeast of Spain, Alcaraz claimed his first Grand Slam as a teenager when he lifted the US Open trophy in 2022 by beating Norway’s Casper Ruud.
Alcaraz is also scheduled to play doubles tennis with compatriot Rafael Nadal at the Olympics, so there is a very good chance he may walk away from Paris with two gold medals.
Fresh from his Wimbledon final defeat by Alcaraz, Djokovic will be eager for an immediate return to his winning ways at Paris 2024.
The 37-year-old holds the record for the most weeks ranked number one in world tennis and currently sits second behind Italy’s Jannik Sinner.
With a record 24 Grand Slam titles already to his name, the Olympics provide one last frontier for the Serbian to conquer.
Djokovic’s best Olympic performance to date is a bronze medal way back in 2008.
