‘Absolute weird rules’ - Fans criticise Paris Olympics for considering singles rankings to determine doubles seedings as Jannik Sinner, Lorenzo Musetti top list in men’s tournament

Only a few days left until the 2024 Paris Olympics kicks off and tennis fans are eagerly waiting to see their favourites in action from July 27 onwards. Ahead of the competition, the seedings for the men's and women's singles and doubles draws were recently revealed. 

There were no major surprises in the singles seeding as the rankings were similar to the players' current rankings. However, that was not the case with doubles seeding. For doubles competition, seedings are determined based on each player's individual singles rankings or existing doubles rankings.

Also Read: Paris Olympics 2024: 3 favorites to win gold in men's singles in Tennis

Many fans on social media called this a bizarre rule and criticised the Olympics. With this, the men’s doubles seeding is topped by two Italian pairs - World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and No. 17 Lorenzo Musetti. They are closely followed by doubles World No. 9 Simone Bolelli and No. 10 Andrea Vavassori.

One of the fans also pointed out that Sinner and Musetti have never played doubles together. "Number 1 seeds at the olympics and they've never even played a doubles match together," he wrote.

number 1 seeds at the olympics and they've never even played a doubles match together 😭😭😭 https://t.co/U5KdT1ibzt

— emily (@janniksinners) July 23, 2024

Here are some fan reactions:

“I really don’t like this. The best doubles in the world should compete based on the DOUBLES ranking,” another fan tweeted. 

“It's because tennis doesn't fit the Olympics format.. They don't care about it,” another fan wrote.

"You know it’s so unserious when you see men’s no1 seeds in doubles," a fan noted.  

I really don’t like this. The best doubles in the world should compete based on the DOUBLES ranking. Same with mixed doubles, it’s very unfair for some players that can’t compete bc only players playing singles or doubles can compete in mixed doubles.

— Tiago Silva 🦅 (@TiagoS2109) July 23, 2024

The worst doubles teams I’ve seen are two extremely good singles players. Doesn’t matter their ranking. Matters whether they work together well or not. My guess with these two is NOT.

— Kween Justine 陳加婷, MSPH 👸🏻 (@SassClassNiceAs) July 23, 2024

Probably why Olympics is a little bit more luck of the draw thing. It will be fun to watch the singles specialists playing doubles tho.

— Brett Aronow (@brettaronow) July 24, 2024

scratch pair being seeded n.1 and one of them is currently having a fever 🤦‍♀️ unserious but forza ig https://t.co/9Lb2mp4nPa

— lrs (@rayofs1nner) July 23, 2024

Meanwhile, USA’s Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula topped the women's category. They are followed by Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova (Czechia) in second place.  

Also Read: Olympics 2024: Key dates, medal events, and star athletes to watch

Here is the complete list of men's and women's doubles seedings:

Men’s Doubles

1. Jannik Sinner / Lorenzo Musetti (Italy)

2. Andrea Vavassori / Simone Bolelli (Italy).

3. Kevin Krawietz / Tim Puetz (Germany)

4. Taylor Fritz / Tommy Paul (USA)

5. Rajeev Ram / Austin Krajicek (USA)

6. Joe Salisbury / Neal Skupski (Great Britain)

7. Andres Molteni / Maximo Gonzalez (Argentina)

8. Mate Pavic / Nikola Mektic (Croatia)

Women’s Doubles

1. Coco Gauff / Jessica Pegula (USA)

2. Barbora Krejcikova / Katerina Siniakova (Czechia)

3. Sara Errani / Jasmine Paolini (Italy)

4. Danielle Collins / Desirae Krawczyk (USA)

5. Gabriela Dabrowski / Leylah Fernandez (Canada)

6. Beatriz Haddad Maia / Luisa Stefani (Brazil)

7. Marta Kostyuk / Dayana Yastremska (Ukraine)

8.  Cristina Bucsa / Sara Sorribes Tormo (Spain)