Team USA picked up two Olympic medals in the men’s doubles at Paris 2024.
A topsy-turvy week for American tennis was capped off by a bronze medal for Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul, while compatriots Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek fell to silver in the final.
To the surprise of many, the men fared far better medal-wise than the women in Paris, despite the stronger line-up of WTA stars Team USA brought to the Olympics.
Coco Gauff, Emma Navarro, and Danielle Collins all succumbed to one of the three eventual medalists, as they all slumped to three controversial defeats.
However, as is their team spirit, many American players were immediate in their showing of appreciation for the new medalists.
Frances Tiafoe and Coco Gauff heap praise on Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul’s bronze medals
With Gauff having entered into all three events, she overcame her personal frustrations to congratulate her teammates on social media.
Under an Instagram post that showed Paul and Fritz posing with their bronze medals, Gauff commented with three USA flags.
She also added the word ‘Digggg’ under Fritz’s, likely as a reference to Paul’s caption which read: “Dug up some bronze with my brother Taylor Fritz.”
Frances Tiafoe, who skipped the games to focus on the upcoming hard court season, commented under Fritz’s post writing: “Medal boyzz.”
Choosing to play in Washington’s Citi Open, Tiafoe was asked about his decision to skip the games, in his press conference ahead of the tournament.
“Yeah, brutal, brutal. Brutal, yeah,” he said, “It’s tough. More tough just like seeing everybody on the boat and stuff like that. That was a tough day.
“I had to play later that day in Atlanta. I’m like, Yeah, I’m turning off every TV and social media. That would have been a cool experience.”
Is American tennis coming back or not?
The status of American tennis is nearly always up for debate, with the male side having been sufficiently outclassed by Europe’s stars.
With no male grand slam singles winner since Andy Roddick in 2003, hopes have recently been rejuvenated as five ATP stars feature in the top 30.
With Fritz and Paul both bowing out in the quarter-final stage of the singles, with no WTA players reaching beyond the last eight either, they may reflect on their Olympic campaign with disappointment.
As the US Open sits neatly on the horizon, Gauff will be going in as the reigning champion, while Ben Shelton will be defending a bucketful of points having made the semi-finals last year.
It feels like the perfect litmus test for American tennis, with its stars looking to bounce back from a sub-par summer and blossom on their home stage.
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