Virginia Women's Tennis | Navarro, Collins named to the U.S. Olympic team

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. Virginia women's tennis alumnae Emma Navarro and Danielle Collins have been selected to represent the United States of America at the Paris 2024 Olympic Tennis Event, as announced today (June 20) by the USTA.

Collins and Navarro are the first players in program history to be named to an Olympic team. Both players previously represented the United States at the Billie Jean King Cup, with Collins playing in 2019 and Navarro playing earlier this year. These will be their first Olympic appearances.

The women's team consists of No. 2 Coco Gauff, No. 5 Jessica Pegula, No. 11 Daniel Collins, No. 17 Emma Navarro and doubles No. 11 Desirae Krawczyk. The U.S. women's team, coached by USTA head of women's tennis Kathy Rinaldi, will consist of four singles players in ParisGauff, Pegula, Collins and Navarro and two doubles teams: Gauff and Pegula, Collins and Krawczyk.

The US will also announce its only mixed doubles team to compete in Paris at a later date from the aforementioned players.

Collins played three seasons at Virginia (2014-2016), winning the NCAA Singles titles in 2014 and 2016 and the Honda Sport Award for women's tennis in her senior season. She turned professional after graduating and won her first WTA 125 title in 2018. In 2019, she advanced to the singles semifinals at the Australian Open, her best result at a Grand Slam until finishing second at the same event in 2022. She also reached the semi-finals of the doubles at Wimbledon in 2022. She has won four WTA singles titles this year, including back-to-back in Miami and Charleston. She debuted in the top 10 of the world rankings in January 2022 after her Australian Open final, reaching seventh place in July that year. She returned to a top-10 ranking in May and currently sits at number 11.

Navarro played two seasons at Virginia (2021-22) and won the NCAA Singles title as a freshman in 2021. The four-time ITA All-American compiled a 51-3 record in singles and a 33-17 record in doubles before he turned pro. after its second season. Navarro finished the 2023 season on the WTA tour strong, reaching the semifinals of the WTA 500 event in San Diego in September and winning the LTA 100K in Charleston in November. She started 2024 by winning her first WTA title at Hobart International, beating Elise Mertens in the final. In back-to-back stellar performances at WTA 1000 events, she defeated Aryna Sabalenka to advance to the quarterfinals in Indian Wells before reaching the Round of 16 at the Miami Open. She has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the world rankings, reaching the top 200 in March 2022 and the top 100 in May 2023 before reaching No. 32 before the end of the year. After advancing to the Round of 16 at Roland-Garros this year, she has risen to number 17 in the world rankings.

Team nominations are subject to approval by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the International Tennis Federation. The United States Paralympic tennis team will be announced in late July.

Eligible singles players have the option to accept or decline the nomination for the 2024 Olympic tennis team. If a tennis player declines, the next highest-ranked American singles tennis player will receive the nomination.

Tennis was part of the Olympic program from the first modern Olympiad in 1896 to 1924. After a 64-year hiatus, tennis returned to the official Olympic program in 1988, becoming the first sport to feature professional athletes.

The 2024 Olympic Games will be held from July 26 to August 11 in Paris, while the tennis competition will take place at Roland Garros from July 27 to August 4. The US has won 24 Olympic medals (14 of them gold) in men's and women's tennis since it returned as a full medal sport in 1988, more than any other country.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) will announce the full list of participants for the Paris 2024 Olympic Tennis Event on July 4.