Coco Gauff becomes first US tennis player to qualify for 2024 Paris Olympics
Coco Gauff has become the first American woman to mathematically qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics scheduled to be held from July 26 to Aug. 11 later this year.
Gauff, as per NBC Sports, has accumulated enough points to make the cut as the four women expected to represent the USA in Paris in the singles event. Only four singles players per gender can qualify from each nation in the Games, and the USA are expected to earn four full spots each for men and women.
Players can qualify separately for the doubles category. Gauff's qualification comes after she was unable to participate at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics due to contracting COVID-19, when she was 17.
Since then, the 20-year-old has made steady progress to make herself one of the best players on the WTA Tour, where she is ranked third in singles. She reached the final of the French Open in 2022 before winning the US Open the following year and making the semifinal of the 2024 Australian Open.
Gauff is currently the highest-ranked American player on the women's tour, followed by Jessica Pegula (5), Madison Keys (18), and Emma Navarro (20). The USA had a poor showing at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in women's singles, where Pegula, Jennifer Brady, and Alison-Riske Amritraj were all eliminated in the first round.
Serena Williams is the last woman to win an Olympic medal for America in the women's singles event, winning gold at the 2012 London Olympics.
Coco Gauff set for Miami Open participation after Indian Wells SF loss
Coco Gauff will enter the WTA 1000 in Miami later this month on the back of a semifinal finish at the BNP Paribas Open. After getting a first-round bye courtesy of being seeded third, Gauff beat Clara Burel, Lucia Bronzetti, Elise Mertens, and Yuan Yue to make it to her first semifinal in Indian Wells.
There, Gauff met World No. 9 Maria Sakkari, who secured a 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-2 win over the American. The Greek eventually lost 6-4, 6-0 in the final to World No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
Gauff is now set to feature in the Miami Open, which will take place from March 20 to 31. This will be her fifth appearance in the tournament, where she has never gotten past the Round of 16 in the singles event.
The American notably won her first WTA 1000 event last year, doing so in Cincinnati. She boasts a 16-4 singles W/L record this year and started the new season by winning the ASB Classic in Auckland.