U.S. Olympic tennis team names two Tampa Bay locals

TOPSHOT – The shadow of Serbia’s Novak Djokovic is cast on the court prior to his Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games men’s singles first round tennis match against Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien at the Ariake Tennis Park in Tokyo on July 24, 2021. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP) (Photo by TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — USTA named U.S. Olympic tennis team for the Paris 2024 games and two Tampa Bay athletes, Danielle Collins, and Austin Krajicek will represent America.

Danielle Collins, 30, from St. Peterburg is ranked No. 11 at the time of team nominations and will compete in her first Olympic Games. Collins had a career high world No. 7 in singles. She won two back-to-back singles titles at Miami and Charleston after her 15-match winning streak and a 36-11 singles record in 2024. Collins announced she will be retiring after this season amid two ongoing health battles.

Austin Krajicek, 34, resident of Tampa is ranked No. 15 in doubles at the time of team nominations and is competing in his second Olympic Games. Krajicek won his first Grand Slam doubles title last year at the French Open and finished fourth in men’s doubles in Tokyo 2021. Krajicek won the NCAA doubles titles and was an All-American throughout a four-year career at Texas A&M.

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

The 2024 games will be held from July 26th to August 11th in Paris. You can catch all the action on WFLA.