Coco Gauff heads U.S. tennis at Paris Olympics after missing Tokyo

Coco Gauff will lead the U.S. tennis team at the Paris Olympics three years after missing the Tokyo Games because of COVID-19 infection.

Gauff, ranked No. 2, will be joined by Jessica Pegula, Danielle Collins and Emma Navarro in women’s singles, along with Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Christopher Eubanks and Marcos Giron in men’s singles.

Olympic tennis starts July 27 at Roland Garros, the site of the French Open.

The American team features six first-time Olympians, the United States Tennis Association said in Thursday’s announcement.

Gauff, 20, is the U.S. Open champion and has reached the semifinals at the year’s first two Grand Slams, the Australian and French Opens.

She was a finalist on the Roland Garros clay in 2022 and will be a medal contender in doubles, too.

She and Katerina Siniakova won the French Open doubles title earlier this month.

Gauff tested positive for COVID-19 days before the start of the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics in July 2021.

Collins, who said this will be her final season on the tour, has won two titles this year in Miami and Charleston.

The 2022 Australian Open runner-up also reached the Strasbourg final in May before a second-round exit at the French Open, where her best result was the quarterfinals in 2020.