Is this the worst olympics in US tennis singles history? Ft. Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula's shocking exits
Coco Gauff suffered a disappointing third-round exit at the Paris Olympics as she lost 7-6(7), 6-2 to Donna Vekic. Previously, Jessica Pegula lost her second-round match to Ukraine's Elina Svitolina 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.
Danielle Collins was the nation's last remaining player in the women's singles event but she retired during her quarterfinal match against Iga Swiatek. In the men's singles event, only Tommy Paul remains but he faces a daunting task against Carlos Alcaraz.
With Gauff and Pegula having lost their doubles match as well, the American tennis team's quest for Olympic medals too seems to be in trouble with hope resting with the men's singles and mixed doubles categories.
The United States previously produced five singles Olympic gold medalists in tennis during the Open Era, which is more than any other nation.
Additionally, two out of four players to have won a career Golden Slam in the Open Era are also from the nation, namely Agassi and Serena Williams. Therefore, it would not be wrong to say that the country has performed fairly well at previous editions of the Summer Games, something that did raise the bar high for the following generations, including the one taking part now.
US tennis singles at the 2024 Paris Olympics so far ft. third-round exits for Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz
Coco Gauff's third-round loss came as a major blow to the US tennis team and with the controversies underlying the match, it was not the best experience for the American.
After hearing a call that came out from a linesperson, Gauff missed a shot, following which the umpire awarded the point to Vekic. While arguing with the umpire, a clearly dissappointed Gauff was heard saying (via US Sun):
"I feel like I'm getting cheated constantly in this game."
Following a game marked by arguments and errors, Gauff's mind went back to similar disputes that took place at the same stadium a couple of weeks back at the French Open when she lost the semifinal to Iga Swiatek. Referring to the same, Gauff further said (via AP News):
“There’s been multiple times this year where that’s happened to me — where I felt like I always have to be an advocate for myself on the court,”
She added, “I felt that he called it before I hit, and I don’t think the ref disagreed,” she said. “I think he just thought it didn’t affect my swing, which I felt like it did.”
While Gauff's match was marked by the aforementioned drama, her compatriot Jessica Pegula too suffered a loss in the hands of former Olympic bronze medalist Elina Svitolina.
Pegula started the match well and took a first-set lead but the Ukrainian managed to get the better of her and by taking the following two sets, eliminated the American from the women's singles category at the tournament.
The very next day, adding to the string of defeats, Danielle Collins too retired from her game against Iga Swiatek despite challenging the latter and extending the match to three sets before being forced by injuries to walk out of the court.
Similarly, Taylor Fritz's loss to Italy's Lorenzo Musetti added to the streak of defeats for the US tennis team. However, his doubles partner Tommy Paul advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating France's Corentin Moutet thereby enabling one to hold on to the small beacon of hope.
Analysing the US tennis team's performance
As mentioned earlier, with names like that of the William sisters and Agassi, the US tennis team has had its fair share of victories over the years with the players taking home medals won in one if not all categories. However, this was not the case in the last two editions of the Summer Games.
In the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the US tennis team failed to secure any medals in the singles category. As part of the former, Jack Sock got eliminated in the first round and Steve Johnson managed to reach the quarterfinals but failed to get through thereafter.
Additionally, in Rio 2016, even the Williams sisters lost in the initial three rounds while Madison Key lost the bronze medal to Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova. Nevertheless, the team took three medals in the doubles and mixed doubles category.
With regard to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the medal-less streak worsened as the US failed to take home any medals even in the doubles' categories and yet again players like Francis Tiafoe and M. Giron lost in the first few rounds.
For the 2024 Paris Olympics, controversies around the composition of the US tennis team and the decision made by players like Ben Shelton, Francis Tiaofoe and Madison Keys to exclude themselves from the Games already brought a lot of attention to the country's performance with regards to the sport. And with back-to-back exits as in the case of Pegula and Gauff, questions regarding the same remain.
While the US tennis team still has a few opportunities to prove itself through doubles and mixed doubles, the shocking exits in the singles category so far surely reflect a disappointing, if not the worst streak of participation so far.