We have a few Olympic posts dotted around so I thought Id put a thread up - nearer the time, no doubt, individual threads will appear for the different events in the mens and womens section.
Here is a decent and relatively simple overview of how the complicated qualification rules work.
so, in singles, each country can have a max of 4 players who qualify. In turn, each country can have a max of 6 players total, their singles players plus others who might qualify in doubles up to that max. Think Im right so far ?
for Britain the current singles situation is that we would have 4 players who could qualify - Cam is a slam dunk, Jack would be certain I think as well; on current rankings, Dan and Andy would qualify. Dan could lose points and places though over the next few months (cut off is mid June) so needs to step up and Andy could lose points and places due to his injury, putting aside whether he is fit. Andy could also get in via an effective wild card as a past champion and multiple slam winner So for the men it feels to me that 2 are likely in and 2 could get in but its touch and go.
on the womens side, Katie would be a cert. Harriet seems to be on the cusp, and could do with picking up some places. Others have mentioned Emma could use her PR and could also possibly get a past slam winner wild card, but there is competition for that and Im not sure if her PR level would be good enough? So 1 is most certainly in and 2 have a shot?
in mens doubles, we could add 2 players to the 4 who might qualify? what Im not clear on and someone like Lambda or Vicman can no doubt advise, if we get 3 singles players in say, can we introduce a 3rd doubles player to make 6, if ranked highly enough eg Jamie or Lloyd? anyway, assuming we have 4 singles players, Joe and Neal would be our doubles players - as they are top 10 ranked , theyd get to pick their own partners, although Id reckon Neals top 10 status is in the edge and Joe isnt certain, so both need good clay seasons. Given the limit of 6, Joe and Neal would need to pick from the 4 singles players and it would seem to me Joe would pick Andy (if fit) and Neal would pick Dan. If Andy or Dan fail to get into singles, can they be picked by Joe and Neal for doubles ( again a question for clarification!). whatefer the pairings, we seem limited to 2 pairs per country in doubles and so it will most likely be Joe and Neal plus whichever partners get picked.
in womens doubles, Heather might be our only possible player and it would seem Heather would need to pick Katie B to get a decent chance on joint doubles and singles rankings? Is that right - any other combo seems highly unlikely?
and mixed is made up onsite of those already there - if we have the 6 men and 3 women present, the best combo singles and doubles ranked players would stand a chance of getting in? Maybe Joe, Neal or Andy with one of Heather or Harriet?
im sure lots of this is wrong so please put me right where I have got it wrong! Thanks!
You can pick 4 doubles specialists and 2 singles players if you so choose - even if more than two singles players are qualified - though they will not I am sure.
Mixed they will just pick the two highest ranked players and hope for the best as it is a 16 draw so very tough to get in. So as it stands Katie with one of the dubs guys.
You can pick 4 doubles specialists and 2 singles players if you so choose - even if more than two singles players are qualified - though they will not I am sure.
Mixed they will just pick the two highest ranked players and hope for the best as it is a 16 draw so very tough to get in. So as it stands Katie with one of the dubs guys.
Thats clear - thanks Wolf. I guess Heather and Harriet plus a man in mixed would struggle to get in; so Katie and Joe or Neal.
I dont know whether Jamie or Lloyd can challenge Neal for a doubles spot, looks like their points gap is too large and , on clay, hard to see that gap being closed?
Just to be clear, it's the LTA selection panel (Iain Bates, Leon Smith, Anne Keothavong, Michael Bourne) that decides who plays with whom for doubles and chooses which of those doubles teams to nominate.
Being a top 10 doubles player, while adding significant weight to selection by being an automatic acceptance if nominated, it doesn't guarantee nomination. If the LTA selection panel think there are teams that have a better prospect of a medal, are likely to be accepted into the draw and by choosing them fill the quota of 6 players then the top 10 doubles player won't be nominated. It's not likely to happen, but it's possible.
Just to be clear, it's the LTA selection panel (Iain Bates, Leon Smith, Anne Keothavong, Michael Bourne) that decides who plays with whom for doubles and chooses which of those doubles teams to nominate.
Being a top 10 doubles player, while adding significant weight to selection by being an automatic acceptance if nominated, it doesn't guarantee nomination. If the LTA selection panel think there are teams that have a better prospect of a medal, are likely to be accepted into the draw and by choosing them fill the quota of 6 players then the top 10 doubles player won't be nominated. It's not likely to happen, but it's possible.
Thanks Lambda - I see she is around 5 places in, Harriet, so that is good, but work to do. Jodie is only a few out as well, so she could do it with some decent clay results (unlikely?).
Mens - Dan is in, Andy is right on the cusp it seems.
Thanks for the Openera link - it is a better list than Livetennis.eu who have a similar list but dont make it clear when players are out or over the quota, so you can easily see where players stand. Openera list is perfect and bookmarked!!
And thanks for LTA panel clarification - as you, say cant see them changing the mens list or, for that matter, unlikely they would change the womens?
Just to be clear, it's the LTA selection panel (Iain Bates, Leon Smith, Anne Keothavong, Michael Bourne) that decides who plays with whom for doubles and chooses which of those doubles teams to nominate.
Being a top 10 doubles player, while adding significant weight to selection by being an automatic acceptance if nominated, it doesn't guarantee nomination. If the LTA selection panel think there are teams that have a better prospect of a medal, are likely to be accepted into the draw and by choosing them fill the quota of 6 players then the top 10 doubles player won't be nominated. It's not likely to happen, but it's possible.
I do continue to so much think there should be no mixed doubles tennis at the Olympics.
Let's see who's going and make up a pair from a couple of playets who have rarely or never played together and off you go against similar pairs in 2 sets plus if necessary a MTB. "Hope for the best" as wolf put it.
There are true Olympic sports where people have dreamed abd trained a lifetime for and there is this, and it doesn't compare.
I recall Laura being "devastated" to miss out on Olympic gold in London. I'm sorry to sound harsh but I more think her very lucky to have paired up wirh Andy and won an Olympic silver medal in this nonsense.
-- Edited by indiana on Wednesday 27th of March 2024 03:12:52 PM
I do continue to so much think there should be no mixed doubles tennis at the Olympics.
Let's see who's going and make up a pair from a couple of playets who have rarely or never played together and off you go against similar pairs in 2 sets plus if necessary a MTB.
There are true Olympic sports where people have dreamed abd trained a lifetime for and there is this, and it doesn't compare.
I must admit I do agree with your thinking on this. Which sounds like I rarely agree but wasnt meant to !
Someone on TF has done a list of all possible pairs. If every country nominates their best possible pair Joe & Katie are 13th on the list and Joe & Heather would be 16th so maybe there is hope for Heather yet.
Just to be clear, it's the LTA selection panel (Iain Bates, Leon Smith, Anne Keothavong, Michael Bourne) that decides who plays with whom for doubles and chooses which of those doubles teams to nominate.
Being a top 10 doubles player, while adding significant weight to selection by being an automatic acceptance if nominated, it doesn't guarantee nomination. If the LTA selection panel think there are teams that have a better prospect of a medal, are likely to be accepted into the draw and by choosing them fill the quota of 6 players then the top 10 doubles player won't be nominated. It's not likely to happen, but it's possible.
and it is interesting panel get to pass judgement on the doubles but can they tinker with singles? Or is that straight from a list?
The rules state that a nation has to pick its top 4 singles players if they qualify as a direct acceptance. Now as Wolf points out, there's nothing in the rules to prevent a nation with strong doubles players choosing to pick 2 singles players and 4 doubles specialists, but that has never happened to date.
This is how the ITF describe this slam/olympic winner rule
2.Gold medallist/Grand Slam champion
Two places are available in each singles draw for any athlete who has previously won an Olympic gold medal in singles or a Grand Slam singles title that has not qualified by direct acceptance, provided they are ranked in the Top 400 and dont push their NOC quota over that magic four-athlete threshold.
If more than two athletes meet these criteria, the place will be offered to the player(s) with the highest number of titles (with a gold medal representing one title). If two players have the same number of titles, the place will be given to the higher-ranked player on 10 June.
So, Andy would have 3 slam titles and 2 olympic gold titles ie 5 and I dont think anyone out there beats that.
Emma has just 1 - I think someone elsewhere said there are quite a few women who theoretically could top that tally and push Emma well down. I guess it is a theoretical possibility if no one else who qualifies by this method "enters" ,but it seems unlikely. Again, people like Lambda and Vicman are a lot closer to this detail than me!