From Coco Gauff's 'willing sacrifice' to Frances Tiafoe putting himself before country: How American tennis stars have become divided over Paris Olympics 2024
The prestigious Paris Olympics in July this year is preceded by its fair share of debate, drama, and discussions. Be it with regards to tennis players having to choose between participating in Wimbledon or the Olympics, or the team composition of various countries, there are still several decisions that are yet to be announced in the public, and a few that have rather stunned tennis fans, or in certain cases, the players themselves.
The US Tennis Association announced its lineup of tennis talent that will be representing the country in the Games. Stemming from personal concerns, several American tennis stars have been divided over the same. With that said, let's delve deeper into a few American storylines revolving around prominent names from the tennis fraternity, emanating from the said announcement:
#4 Nicole Melichar-Martinez
Nicole Melichar Martinez, the American doubles World No.1, was not selected to represent her country in the Paris Olympics despite being a part of the team four years back in Tokyo.
In a post shared on social media platform X, the American tagged the ITF and USTA citing that the former mentioned how a top 10 ranking guarantees a spot in the draw, provided the athlete is nominated by the country. She expressed her disagreement with the rule as the American team did not give a spot to the current doubles World No. 9.
Expressing her disappointment on the said platform, Melichar-Martinez said:
"I am absolutely eager and available to represent Team USA in Paris, but unfortunately, I was not selected. This news deeply saddens me, as it has been a long standing dream of mine to be on the team again and compete for a medal. In my humble opinion, the Olympic Games are the greatest honor we have in sports."
#3 Ben Shelton
The absence of the emerging star Ben Shelton from the US tennis team for the Olympics goes back to a claim made by the American Prodigy back in March wherein he said that he is not as inclined towards participating in the Paris Olympics. Speaking about the same at a press conference that took place during his participation in Indian Wells, Shelton said (via Tennis World USA):
"I've thought about it a lot. At the moment I can say that I'm quite inclined not to go this year, in case I qualify. I think they fit into the tennis schedule in a complicated way."
"I'll be in Europe for two months leading up to Wimbledon and then after, you know, I want to prepare and really get ready for the US Open. So having to go back to Europe to play on clay, a different surface, you know, it kind of messes up a few lead-up tournaments to the US Open that I would play if I wasn't playing the Olympics," Shelton added.
With a 19-31 win-loss record this year, Shelton has won one title in Houston so far. In terms of the majors, after losing the French Open in the third round, the World No.14 will be seen taking part in Wimbledon.
#2 Francis Tiafoe
Former World No.10 Francis Tiafoe is another prominent absentee from the list of players representing the United States of America in the Paris Olympics along with others like Shelton, Sebastian Korda and Madison Keys.
Tiafoe's decision to not participate in the Olympics is in line with his willingness to prioritize playing on home soil and the hard court surface at the US Open soon after the Olympics. This is in continuation to Shelton's decision to focus on a Grand Slam and a particular surface rather than the Olympics that is to take place on clay.
Speaking about the same with British journalist James Gray, Tiafoe said (via Tennis Infinity):
"It's insignificant to what I'm trying to do going through to the US Open. I love my country, but I think I gotta think about myself."
Tiafoe's participation could have been his second time representing the United States at the Olympics as the American was a part of the USA's tennis contingent in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where he lost in the second round in both the doubles and singles categories.
#1 Coco Gauff
WTA World No.2 Coco Gauff leads Team USA in the tennis category of the 2024 Paris Olympics along with ATP World No.12 Taylor Fritz. Additionally, among other prominent names, Gauff will be joined by compatriots Jessica Pegula, Danielle Collins and Emma Navarro in the women’s singles category.
After losing the French Open semifinal to World No.1 Iga Swiatek, Gauff recently claimed her maiden major doubles title at Roland Garros alongside Katerina Siniakova. Returning to Roland Garros for the Olympics, she will also be teaming up with Pegula for the women's doubles medal.
As a 17-year-old, Gauff was set to participate in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics as well before getting infected with COVID-19, which held Gauff from achieving a dream the American harbored. However, unlike some of her compatriots who chose to skip the Olympics owing to busy schedules, Gauff preferred making the "sacrifice" to circle back to the aforementioned dream.
Speaking about the same, Gauff said:
"The calendar is full, but it's just a sacrifice I'm willing to make. I know I have a lot to defend in the hard-court season, but there's experiences that you ask yourself if it's worth sacrificing for and for me, this is one of those times that I'm willing to."
Earlier this year, during the Australian Open, the former US Open champion shared her ambitions for the Olympic games and said (via Olympics.com):
"One of the goals I wrote down on my vision thing, vision note, in my phone, was to win a medal in the Olympics."
She added, "Ideally, I would want to play all three (singles, doubles and mixed doubles). We'll have to see where I fall in the lineup ranking-wise and all of that. That definitely is a priority. The Olympics have been a priority in both singles and doubles."
After recently losing to Pegula in Berlin, Gauff is now gearing up to play at Wimbledon.