Every four years, players across the ATP and WTA Tours get another shot at major glory.
And with three grand slams already down in 2024, the Paris Olympics provides that extra shot in the arm as players across the board gun for gold.
The big names are descending on Roland-Garros for a second time this season, with the famous venue of the French Open playing host to the Olympic tennis tournament.
Iga Swiatek and Rafael Nadal, two dominant forces on the Parisian clay, will be in action, while Andy Murray, a two-time Olympic gold medallist, is making his final appearance before retirement.
Novak Djokovic is also set to feature, while Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff will play at their first Olympics, though Jannik Sinner, the men's world number one, has had to withdraw due to illness.
Here, we outline the main storylines ahead of the tournament starting on Saturday.
Murray's last hurrah
This will be it for Murray. The three-time grand slam champion, and former world number one, is finally bowing out.
The 37-year-old, who won gold in the men's singles at London 2012 and Rio 2016, as well as claiming silver in the mixed doubles at the first of those Games, confirmed his impending retirement on Tuesday.
Murray is the only man with multiple singles gold medals since tennis returned to the Olympic program in 1988. He will become the first British athlete to appear in four singles draws at the Games, too.
He is one of just eight players in the Open Era to have won 200 or more matches at majors, while only Nadal, Djokovic and Roger Federer have won more ATP 1000 matches than Murray since the format's introduction in 1990.
The Scot will bow out as the British player with the most singles titles on the ATP Tour in the Open Era (46).
The Dream Team
There are so many stars for fans in Paris to take in, but arguably the main attraction will be the doubles dream team of Nadal and his heir apparent Alcaraz, who are pairing up to represent Spain.
This team counts the record champion at Roland-Garros (14) in Nadal, and the reigning champion in Alcaraz.
While four-time major champion Alcaraz is featuring at his first Olympics, Nadal is a veteran campaigner at the Games, having scooped gold in the singles at Beijing 2008 and in the doubles in Rio eight years ago.
Nadal is one of two players to secure an Olympic gold in both the men's singles and doubles since tennis returned to the Olympics in 1988, alongside Nicolas Massu (both at Athens 2004).
Like Murray, Nadal is set to bow out in the coming months, and what better way to go than winning gold with the player who could well go on to match his feats?
Nadal's great rival Djokovic, meanwhile, will surely also be playing at his final Games.
Djokovic will become the player with the joint-most appearances in men's singles at the Olympics (five, equalling Yen Hsun Lu) since the sport returned to the Games 36 years ago.
The Serbian is the player with the most matches played (19) and joint-most matches won (13, level with Federer) at the Olympics since 1988.
Swiatek's Roland-Garros return
Women's world number one Swiatek loves Roland-Garros just as much as Nadal does.
Four of the 23-year-old's five grand slam titles have come at the venue, including her success earlier this year. In fact, Swiatek has won four of the past five French Open titles.
Swiatek lost in the second round in Tokyo, but given her dominance in Paris in recent years, she has to be considered the favourite in the women's draw.
Indeed, only Margaret Court (95.2%) has a higher winning percentage at Roland-Garros than Swiatek (94.6%) in the Open Era.
That being said, the incumbent world number one has won gold at the Olympics only twice: Steffi Graf in 1988 and Justine Henin in 2004.
Aryna Sabalenka rivalled Swiatek throughout this season's clay-court swing. The Belarusian, who will be competing under a neutral banner, lost in the second round in Tokyo three years ago.
Gauff flying the flag
There was heartbreak for Gauff three years ago, as she missed out on what would have been her maiden Games after testing positive for COVID-19.
All being well, that won't be an issue this time around, and the 20-year-old will have the honour of bearing the United States flag at Friday's opening ceremony. She will be the first tennis player to fly the flag for Team USA.
Gauff, the world number two, has reached the quarters, the final, the quarters again and the semi-finals in her last four appearances at the French Open - will she finally break her Roland-Garros duck?
If she does, then Gauff will join Graf (1988), Jennifer Capriati (1992), Lindsay Davenport (1996) and Venus Williams (2000) as the women to win Olympic gold before turning 21.
Former world number one Naomi Osaka, who lit the torch in Tokyo, should not be discounted either.
She is looking to become the second Japanese player to secure an Olympic medal since tennis' return to the Games, after Kei Nishikori's bronze in Rio.
Linette and Frech to warm up for Olympics with first all-Polish WTA final
Ahead of joining compatriot Iga Swiatek at the Paris Olympics, Magda Linette and Magdalena Frech will prepare by contesting the first all-Polish WTA final of the Open Era.
Linette and Frech, ranked 48th and 57th respectively by the WTA, will both take part in the Olympic singles tournament at Roland-Garros, for which four-time French Open champion Swiatek is the firm favourite.
While Swiatek has been drawn to face Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu in the first round, Linette will face Mirra Andreeva and Frech is set to take on Bulgaria's Viktoriya Tomova.
Before then, though, the latter duo will go head-to-head in the final of the Prague Open.
Both overcame home favourites to advance to the showpiece match in Czechia, Linette beating first seed Linda Noskova 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-2).
Frech, meanwhile, benefitted from a walkover against 16-year-old Laura Samsonova, the former Wimbledon girl's champion being forced to retire while down 3-6 6-0 4-2.
Frech, who is yet to win a WTA Tour-level title, won the only previous meeting between the pair in the Saint Malo quarter-finals in 2022, triumphing 7-5 6-7 (2-7) 6-2.
Nadal could face Djokovic in second round at Olympic Games
Rafael Nadal could face Novak Djokovic in a heavyweight second-round match at the Paris Olympic Games after the draws for the tennis tournaments were made on Thursday.
Nadal is widely expected to retire from tennis later this year, with the Olympics set to represent his swansong at Roland-Garros, where he has won 14 French Open titles.
He will play in both the singles and doubles tournaments, partnering current French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz for the latter competition.
Nadal and Alcaraz will face Argentina's fourth-seeded pair Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in a difficult first-round matchup in the doubles tournament.
Nadal is one of just two players to have won Olympic gold in both singles and doubles since the sport returned to the Games in 1988, doing so at Beijing 2008 (singles) and Rio 2016 (doubles) – Nicolas Massu triumphed over both events at Athens 2004.
In the singles, Nadal will take on Hungary's Marton Fucsovics in the opening round, and the prize could be a second-round date with Djokovic, who faces Australian Matthew Ebden first.
They are on the same side of the draw as third seed Alexander Zverev, who faces Jaume Munar first, and seventh seed Taylor Fritz, who opens against Alexander Bublik.
On the opposite side of the bracket, Alcaraz will start his campaign against Hady Habib, with Britain's Cameron Norrie a potential second-round opponent.
Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev faces Rinky Hijikata in his first match, while fifth seed Alex de Minaur is a potential quarter-final opponent for Alcaraz.
Britain's Andy Murray withdrew from the singles event to concentrate on his doubles bid alongside Dan Evans on Thursday, and the duo will face Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniel of Japan first.
Should they advance, home favourites Arthur Fils and Ugo Humbert could await in round two, with Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul potential quarter-final foes, though the Americans will have to overcome Canada's Milos Raonic and Felix Auger Aliassime to get that far.
Murray and Evans cannot face Nadal and Alcaraz until the final.
Iga Swiatek is the strong favourite in the women's draw, having won four French Open titles on the Paris clay. Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu is her round-one opponent.
On her same side of the draw, there is a huge round-one clash between Naomi Osaka and 2016 silver medallist Angelique Kerber, who announced on Thursday that she will retire after the Games.
Elena Rybakina and Danielle Collins are also on that side of the draw, while Coco Gauff starts against Ajla Tomljanovic on the opposite side of the bracket.
Angelique Kerber to retire after Olympic Games
Angelique Kerber has announced she will retire from professional tennis after the Olympic Games in Paris.
Kerber, who won singles titles at the Australian Open, US Open and Wimbledon between 2016 and 2018, returned to the court after an 18-month hiatus earlier this year.
She had missed the entire 2023 season after announcing her pregnancy in August 2022, giving birth to a daughter the following February.
The 36-year-old has fond memories of the Olympics, having claimed silver at Rio 2016, and she sees this year's tournament at Roland-Garros as a fitting place to end her career.
"The finish line. Before the Olympics begin, I can already say that I will never forget Paris 2024, because it will be my last professional tournament as a tennis player," Kerber wrote on Instagram on Thursday.
"Whereas this might actually be the right decision, it will never feel that way. Simply because I love the sport with all my heart and I'm thankful for the memories and opportunities it has given me.
"The Olympics I've participated in so far have been more than just competitions as they represent different chapters of my life as a tennis player: the climb, the peak… and now, the finish line.
"Paris 2024 will mark the finish line of the most incredible journey I could have ever dreamed of, growing up with a racket in my hand.
"There are many more things I want to say and people to thank, which I will do once I completed my last match… but for now, I will take the time and soak up every second of this final episode on court."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
