Coco Gauff to make Olympics debut: See the US women’s tennis team roster
Written by ABC Audio. All rights reserved. on June 21, 2024
(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Tennis Association has announced its full lineup of American talent set to hit the clay courts of Roland Garros at the 2024 Paris Olympics, led by superstar Coco Gauff.
With just over one month before the Games get underway in France, Team USA tennis has locked in its final roster for singles and doubles, which includes six first-time Olympians.
Team USA Tennis roster set for Paris Olympics
Gauff previously made the team in 2020 but missed out on the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games after testing positive for COVID-19 days before the start in July 2021.
The current World No. 2 will make her Olympics debut alongside No. 5 Jessica Pegula — who missed the French Open this season due to a neck injury — No. 11 Danielle Collins in her final season, and No. 17 Emma Navarro.
The women will be led by coach and USTA Head of Women’s Tennis Kathy Rinaldi, with doubles teams featuring Gauff and Pegula, plus Collins and doubles No. 11 Desirae Krawczyk.
The clay of Roland Garros will be a familiar surface and stadium for the American women, particularly Gauff, who reached the singles semifinals and notched her first Grand Slam doubles title at the French Open earlier this month.
While the 20-year-old from Delray Beach, Florida, is the reigning U.S. Open women’s singles champion, she has won five of her nine WTA doubles titles with Pegula and reached the world No.1 doubles ranking for the first time in the summer of 2022.
The U.S. men’s team headed to Paris includes world singles No. 12 Taylor Fritz making his Olympics debut, as well as No. 13 Tommy Paul, No. 44 Chris Eubanks, and No. 53 Marcos Giron.
There will be two men’s doubles teams representing Team USA including Fritz and Paul, plus world doubles No. 6 Rajeev Ram making his third Olympic appearance and No. 14 Austin Krajicek, coached by 2012 Olympic doubles gold medalist and Davis Cup captain Bob Bryan.
Ram, 40, has four major doubles titles and also won silver in mixed doubles at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games alongside Venus Williams.
The USTA said this week that it would announce the mixed doubles team for Paris, which “will be taken from the qualified players,” at a later date.
The U.S. has won 24 Olympic medals, 14 gold, in men’s and women’s tennis since it returned as a full medal sport in 1988, which is more than any other nation, according to the USTA.
Olympic tennis starts July 27 at Roland Garros.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
