U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff is set to lead the U.S. tennis team at the upcoming Paris Olympics, making her debut in the Games after missing the Tokyo edition due to a bout of COVID-19.
Gauff, currently ranked No. 2 in the world, will be joined by fellow top players Jessica Pegula (ranked fifth), Danielle Collins, and Emma Navarro in the women’s singles category, as announced by the U.S. Tennis Association on Thursday.
On the men’s side, world No. 12 Taylor Fritz will lead the singles squad, supported by Tommy Paul, Christopher Eubanks, and Marcos Giron.
Olympic tennis starts on July 27 at Roland Garros, where Gauff fell to world No. 1 and eventual champion Iga Swiatek in the French Open semi-finals this month.
Gauff, the runner-up to Swiatek in the 2022 French Open, also reached the semifinals at the Australian Open this year.
The 20-year-old will also compete in women’s doubles, teaming up with Pegula on the same Roland Garros courts where they claimed the French Open doubles crown – their fifth doubles title as a team.
Gauff had been slated to compete in the Tokyo Games at the age of 17 but tested positive for COVID-19 days before the Olympics, forcing her to miss out on “a dream come true.”
Kathy Rinaldi will coach the U.S. women’s Olympic team, which will also see Collins team up with Desirae Krawczyk in doubles.
The men’s team will be coached by 2012 Olympic doubles gold medalist Bob Bryan. Fritz and Paul will team up in doubles, with the U.S. also represented by Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek.
The mixed doubles team will be selected from the qualified players and announced at a later date.
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