Tennis at 2024 Paris Olympics: How it works, Team USA stars, what else to know

Here's what you need to know about tennis at the 2024 Paris Olympics .

When did tennis become an Olympic sport?

Dropped from the Olympics after the 1924 Games, tennis returned as a demonstration sport in 1984 and has had full medal status for the top professional players in the world since 1988.

How does Olympic tennis work?

Much like the Grand Slams, there are five disciplines: men's and women’s singles; men’s and women’s doubles; and mixed doubles.

Both singles draws have 64 entrants, determined by the top 56 in the world rankings on June 10. However, because each country can enter only four players, automatic spots fall to players outside the top 56. There are four spots reserved for winners of designated qualification tournaments in Asia, Africa and the Americas, plus four wild-card entries.

The men’s and women’s doubles draws each have 32 teams (maximum two per country), chosen by a formula that accounts for both doubles rankings and singles rankings, with first preference given to top-10 doubles players who can choose their partner. Mixed doubles is a 16-team draw determined by combined ranking.

All matches are best-of-three sets, though doubles will play a tiebreaker to 10 points instead of a third set. All draws are single-elimination, though the two semifinal losers play for a bronze medal.

Tennis for the Paris Games will take place on the red clay at Roland Garros, home of the French Open.

Who are the top Team USA athletes in tennis?

America’s best medal chances will come on the women’s side, with reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff a contender in both singles and doubles, alongside Jessica Pegula, a pairing that made the 2022 French Open final. Both Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul, the top two American men, have had solid clay results this year but will be longshots to medal. Rajeev Ram, a 2016 silver medalist in mixed doubles, remains one of the top doubles players in the world at age 40.

What’s the international landscape in Olympic tennis?

Though tennis at the Olympics can sometimes feel like an afterthought between Wimbledon and the US Open, which are bigger prizes within the sport, this year’s event has historic implications. Can 37-year old Serbian Novak Djokovic finally win gold, the only significant prize in tennis that has eluded him? Can 2008 gold medalist Rafael Nadal have one more run on the red clay in his final Olympics for Spain? Most of the world’s top players including Carlos Alcaraz (Spain), Jannik Sinner (Italy) and Iga Swiatek (Poland) are expected to compete.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more .

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tennis at 2024 Paris Olympics: How it works, Team USA stars, what else to know