We’re only a couple of weeks away from the start of the 2016 Olympics and excitement is definitely building for the world’s greatest sporting spectacle. One of the events to watch in this year’s Summer Games is the Women’s Singles Tennis tournament. Read on below as we break down the female tennis players who are bound to impress in Rio this coming August. While you’re at it, you can check out our Olympic preview for the Men’s Singles draw.
Cash In on the Best Online Sportsbook Offers Now at TopBet!
Can Serena Williams be stopped? That’s the question on everyone’s lips after her dominating performance in the Wimbledon Championships earlier this month. Williams eased past Angelique Kerber, 7-5, 6-3, in the final to win a record 22nd Grand Slam title. Williams dropped just one set the entire tournament en route to grabbing her seventh Wimbledon crown.
The world no. 1 will fancy her chances of duplicating that feat in the Summer Games as she has fared extremely well at the Olympics her entire career. The American already has four gold medals in her back pocket. Apart from winning the singles crown in 2012, Williams also nabbed victories in the Women’s Doubles at the Sydney, Beijing and London Olympics. She stamped her class at the All-England Club in the last staging of the Olympics, losing just 17 games in six matches en route to her first singles gold medal. She destroyed Maria Sharapova in the final, 6-0, 6-1.
If there’s one player who can stop Serena Williams in the Rio Games, it’s got to be the talented Garbine Muguruza. She stunned Williams in the French Open final last June, beating the world no. 1 in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4. With the victory, Muguruza became the first Spanish woman to win the French Open since Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario back in 1998. Muguruza is 2-3 in her career against Williams with both of her victories coming at Roland Garros.
One player who can definitely surprise in this tournament is Angelique Kerber. She has clearly established herself as one of the world’s best, already appearing in two Grand Slam finals this year. She stunned Serena Williams in the Australian Open final earlier this year, beating the 22-time Grand Slam champion in three epic sets, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Williams, however, exacted some payback at the Wimbledon final, outlasting the German in straight sets. Kerber has made it clear that winning the Olympics is her top priority and we wouldn’t be shocked one bit if she manages to pull off that feat in Rio next month.
Another player you can’t sleep on in this tournament is Venus Williams. She’s starting to regain her old form, climbing up to seventh in the world rankings after falling to No. 137 just about four years ago due to her battle with the energy-sapping Sjogren’s Syndrome. Williams stunned tennis fans with her excellent showing at the Wimbledon Championships earlier this month, reaching the semifinals at the All-England Club for the first time since 2009. Like her sister Serena, Venus also has four gold medals in her trophy collection. She captured the Women’s Singles title at Sydney in 2000 and won the Women’s Doubles crown at the Sydney, Beijing and London Olympics.
Looking for a worthy long shot in the Women’s Singles tennis event in this year’s Olympics? How about Sam Stosur? The 32-year-old will become the first Australian woman to compete in four Olympic tennis tournaments after making her debut at the Athens Games in 2004. Stosur will play singles and doubles along with world number 56 Daria Gavrilova. Stosur knows how to play in the big stage as evidenced by her US Open triumph in 2011 so expect a spirited run from the Queenslander in the upcoming Rio Games.
Writer’s Prediction
Serena Williams (EVEN) storms to her second consecutive Olympics Women’s Singles crown.
