"They are paying the price now" - Serena Williams' ex-coach critical of American tennis players skipping Paris Olympics
Serena Williams' former coach Rennae Stubbs spoke of the American tennis players who did not compete at the Paris Olympics. The Aussie said that some of them were "paying the price" for their absence, as they did not do well in Cincinnati.
Players such as Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul all competed at the Paris Olympics. However, the likes of Madison Keys, Frances Tiafoe and Sebastian Korda did not compete at the quadrennial event.
Rennae Stubbs spoke about the impact of missing the Olympics on a recent episode of her podcast, "The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast," saying that a few American players who did not compete at the Olympics were "paying the price a little bit" since they did not fare well at the Cincinnati Open.
"A lot of tennis players, Americans, they didn't go to the Olympics. I have to say they are all paying the price a little bit now because none of them have done well in Cincinnati. A lot pulled out of the tournament in Canada as well," the Aussie said.
Only three US tennis players reached the quarterfinals or further at the Cincinnati Open
The Cincinnati Open was not a particularly impressive tournament for American tennis players, as only three of them managed to reach the singles semifinals.
Frances Tiafoe and Jessica Pegula both reached the final of their singles tournaments before losing to Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, respectively. Ben Shelton reached the men's singles quarterfinals.
Among players who did not enter the Olympics, Sebastian Korda was the 16th seed in Cincinnati and suffered a first-round exit at the hands of Pablo Carreno Busta. Madison Keys withdrew from the WTA 1000 event after retiring in her opening match at the Canadian Open.
A total of ten American singles players are seeded at the US Open (five men, five women). Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula are among the top 10 seeds in the women's singles event, seeded third and sixth, respectively.
Gauff will face Varvara Gracheva in the opening round on August 26, while Pegula will face Shelby Rogers. Danielle Collins, Emma Navarro and Madison Keys are seeded 11th, 13th and 14th, respectively.
Taylor Fritz is the highest-seeded American men's tennis player at the US Open at 12th and he is followed by Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul at 13th and 14th, respectively. Sebastian Korda is the 16th seed while Frances Tiafoe is 20th.