Tennis News You Can Use
Yesterday we examined how the USA Women’s Tennis Team is likely to shake out for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. Today we are taking a look at the possible participants on the Men’s side. Selection of the rosters are expected to be announced by 5 July. Since the selection process is different from what is done in professional tennis tournaments, most tennis fans are not familiar how Olympic spots are determined in tennis.
The first criteria for selection to the Singles draw is Direct Acceptance for the top 56 ranked players. Direct Acceptance basically works off the rankings list for the ATP and WTA. However, each nation is limited to 4 players in the Singles draw. All four US Women who will play the Olympics earned their spot through Direct Acceptance. Additionally, there are quite a few American women ranked in the top 56 that won’t get into the Olympics. The USA men do not suffer the same embarrassment of riches.
The Olympics are using the rankings list as of June 14. That means that the top ranked American Man is Reilly Opelka (32). He is followed by John Isner (33), Taylor Fritz (36), Tommy Paul (50), and Sebastian Korda (52). However, according to NBC Sports, Opelka and Isner have already declined Olympic participation. That means that the United States men will have only three Direct Acceptance Qualifiers: Fritz, Paul, and Korda.
The next USA player on the men’s rankings list is Sam Querry (63). Querry’s probation for violating COVID protocols at the St Petersburg tournament is scheduled to lift at the end of June. That being said, it is unclear if he is regarded as being in “good standing” with the USTA and ITF. Additionally, Querry had already declined to participate in the Tokyo Olympics before it was postponed last year. He is also on record with the position that tennis should not be a part of the Olympic Games. It is probably a safe bet that Querry will not be among the USTA nominations for men’s singles.
It is possible that if enough players who qualify for Direct Acceptance decline that Frances Tiafoe could make the Singles Draw. It would be a nice surprise if he made it.
On the Doubles side of the house, the United States men do not have any Direct Acceptance qualifiers. Only the Top 10 in the rankings earn an automatic berth. However, Rajeev Ram (12) is probably a safe bet to earn a nomination from the USTA. Rajeev has been playing professional mixed events with Nicole Melichar in the run up to the Olympics. Ram/Melichar probably have the best shot for the USA men to win a medal at the event.
Based on the doubles rankings, the next USA Doubles Nomination could be Austin Krajicek. After Krajicek the next on the rankings list for the USA men are the (recently retired) Bryan Brothers. My guess is that the USTA will nominate Ram and Krajicek for doubles and try to sneak in a pair of the Singles players into the doubles draw as well. There is a detailed breakdown of the USTA nomination criteria in yesterday’s post on the women’s team.
For mixed, there is one spot left assuming that Melichar/Ram play together as expected. The other pair could be Mattek-Sands and maybe Austin Krajicek. He would be a better choice than any of the singles specialists and I would tune in to watch that pairing play for sure.
I am really looking forward to the formal announcement of the USA Olympic Tennis Team on July 5 and of course the Olympic games themselves.
- Qualification System – Games of the XXXII Olympiad – Tokyo 2020, ITF Document, 29 April 2021.
- ITF Revises Entry Ranking Data for Tokyo Olympic Tennis Event, ITF Press Release, 15 April 2021.
- United States Tennis Association Incorporated (USTA) Athlete Selection Procedures 2020 Olympic Games – Tokyo, February 20, 2020.
- U.S. Olympic team roster: Athletes qualified for Tokyo Games, NBC Sports, June 24, 2021.
- Sam Querrey, top U.S. male tennis player in Olympic qualifying, to skip Tokyo Games, NBC Sports, January 20, 2020.
- Sam Querrey: ´Tennis and Golf should not be at the Olympic Games´, Tennis World USA, July 21, 2016.
