Nagal also qualified for the quotas after climbing 18 places in the singles rankings last week. After winning the ATP Challenger title on Sunday at the Heilbronn Neckarcup in Germany, Nagal jumped from a career-best ranking of 95th to 77th, according to Olympics.com.
64 players will take part in the men’s and women’s singles competitions at Paris 2024. The top 56 men’s singles players according to the ATP Rankings published on June 10 have been awarded their spots. Each country can secure a maximum of four contingents.
France had one spot reserved as host nation in case none of its athletes managed to secure a direct spot at the Olympics through the rankings. However, since France secured all four players’ singles participation through their rankings, the host nation’s share was added back into the pool and the maximum number of players increased from 56 to 57.
Nagal finished last among quota-eligible players in the rankings and secured his spot. Nagal, who played for India at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, was 138th in the rankings in January. Earlier this year, he broke into the top 100 of the ATP rankings by winning the title at the Chennai Open. For Olympic tennis, National Olympic Committees (NOCs) around the world will have to confirm the operate of quotas by July 19. They have exclusive rights to represent their countries in the multi-sport event and the athletes’ participation in the games will depend on how they choose the athletes who will represent the country’s flag at the Olympics.
Meanwhile, 32 teams will take part in the doubles competition for men and women, two teams from each country. The first players to qualify for the event were the top 10 players in the doubles rankings, provided they had an available partner among the top 300 players in doubles.
Bopanna is expected to select No. 67 Sriram Balaji as its Olympic partner, given that the number will be confirmed by the National Olympic Committee.
Bopanna, 44, won the Australian Open Grand Slam in January and reached the semifinals of the French Open last week. Bopanna represented India at the London Olympics in 2012 and Rio in 2016, but missed out on qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
