For the third Olympics in a row, the United States tennis team have failed to win a medal in either the men’s or the women’s singles tournaments at the Summer Games.
The Americans sent a powerful tennis squad to the Paris Olympics, but they failed to reach the medal matches at Roland Garros with Tommy Paul their last hopeful losing in the quarter-final.
Team USA were also empty-handed in the singles competitions at Tokyo 2020 and Rio 2016.
The Americans boasted three top-10 players in the women’s tournament in Paris with world No 2 Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula (No 6) and Danielle Collins (No 9) joined by world No 15 Emma Navarro in the main draw.
Taylor Fritz (No 12) headlined the men’s singles team with Paul (No 13), Marcos Giron (No 38) and Christopher Eubanks (No 110) also joining him at Roland Garros.
However, none of them have made the medal matches with Eubanks and Giron the first Americans to exit the singles events as they lost in the first round.
Pegula then crashed out in the second round while the third round proved to be catastrophic for the North Americans as Gauff, Navarro and Fritz all exited the tournament.
Collins and Paul were their last players standing in the singles as they reached the quarter-final, but Collins retired with injury during the third set against Swiatek while Paul went down in straight sets against Carlos Alcaraz.
It means Team USA have not won a medal in the singles since the 2012 London Games.
In Tokyo, none of the men or women reached the quarter-final while in Rio Madison Keys lost her bronze medal match against Petra Kvitova from the Czech Republic and Steve Johnson lost in the last eight.
Serena Williams won gold in the singles at London 2012 while there were also no singles medals at the 2008 Beijing Games. Mardy Fish won silver in 2004 and Venus Williams won gold at Sydney 2000 with Monica Seles winning bronze.
Doubles Dream Still Alive
But there is better news for Team USA in the doubles as fourth seeds Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram are assured that the squad will win at least one medal as they have booked their place in the men’s doubles gold medal match.
They could still be joined by Fritz and Paul, but the third seeds still have to face Andy Murray and Dan Evans in the third round and if they get through that match then they will face the Australian pair of John Peers and Matthew Ebden in the semi-final.
The women’s doubles squads have disappointed as top seeds Gauff and Pegula and as well as fourth seeds Collins and Desirae Krawczyk lost in the second round.
Gauff and Fritz also teamed up in the mixed doubles, but they suffered quarter-final exits.
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