The Olympic Games are progressing, and we now have the final for the women set – with a rather surprising matchup. Chinese Qinwen Zheng will face Croatian Donna Vekic for the gold medal match, where both of them could make history for their respective countries. We want to give you a preview, with our predictions, of the Olympic women’s final and how it might shape up tomorrow.
Their way through the draw
The Chinese top player Qinwen Zheng can look back to an astonishing season. A maiden Grand Slam final in Australia, a career high top-10 WTA ranking and now the Olympic final. On her way through the Olympic tournament, she played some great tennis against strong opponents, but also was involved in a little drama in her Round of 16. Facing Emma Navarro, she won in three hard-fought sets and went to the net for the handshake, where she was met with a few words from Navarro, claiming she would not respect her due to her behavior. Both experts and Zheng herself were not able to clarify, but it seems to have been a motivation for her in any case.
She went on to beat Angelique Kerber in her last career match, coming back from a 1-4 deficit in the decider and of course, she beat World No. 1 and top-favorite Iga Swiatek in straight sets in the semifinal. Her strong serving, powerful forehand and pure grit have made her a tough player to beat throughout the season and it seems that she now has the belief to go all the way.
While Zheng at 21 is seeing her first major success as a pro, her opponent Donna Vekic is back for her second peak. She was already regarded as an up- and coming star in 2014, when she won her first WTA title. In 2019, she reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal and broke into the top-20, before falling out of the top-100 due to injury and a hiatus in 2022. But she seems to be back stronger than ever in 2024, coming off the Wimbledon semifinal and now into her first Olympic final. No Croatian woman has ever reached the medal stage at this event, and she would of course be the first to win gold at the Olympic Games as well.
Her way in Paris lead her through former Grand Slam champion Andreescu, World No. 2 Coco Gauff, the Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk and finally fellow surprise Schmiedlova. Especially the match against Kostyuk was on the line in the deciding tiebreak with a few lucky moments, but Vekic has proven in Wimbledon and Paris that she is up for any challenge in 2024.
Their head-to-head so far and prediction
So far, they only faced off two times and their head-to-head is even, with Vekic winning their last encounter in 2023. However, they never played on clay so far and it seems that the Chinese might be enjoying that surface a bit more, with a 16-4 record so far in 2024.
In total, she comes into the final with a 31-12 record and a recent title in Palermo, so she is on a 10-match winning streak. Donna Vekic is 8-4 so far on clay, 27-15 in total for 2024, but hasn’t played a preparation event coming off her deep run at Wimbledon.
Zheng also sports the advantage in ranking, with her WTA rank being No. 7 and 16 spots ahead of her opponent at No. 21. Due to her marathon match against Kerber, she spent about 45 minutes longer on court, but didn’t show any signs of fatigue so far.
The moneyline goes along with those numbers and gives the advantage to Zheng at -250, with Vekic being the underdog at +200.
Prediction: In my eyes, Zheng will win this in three sets, given her current form and boost of confidence from beating Iga Swiatek. The chance for Vekic might be to benefit from any kind of nervousness or doubt, as she surely is the more experienced player.
Want to bet on the match? We recommend PariMatch for UK bettors.
Want to bet on the match? We recommend FanDuel or DraftKings for US bettors.
Is this in line with your expectations or do you have Vekic in this one? Let us know in the comments!
