ATLANTA — Coco Gauff is booking a trip to Paris for the 2024 Olympics, after her semifinal run at the recent Indian Wells tournament mathematically ensured her place.
Olympic tennis qualifying can get a little in the weeds, but the simplest explanation for Gauff, who was partly raised in Atlanta, is that she's now guaranteed to be in the top 56 of the WTA rankings by the time of the Olympics. Gauff's play at Indian Wells propelled her to No. 3 in the world.
Gauff, 20, also reached the semifinals of the Australian Open this year and won her first Grand Slam at last year's U.S. Open.
She also qualified to compete at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 at just 17 years old, which would have made her the youngest Olympic tennis player in two decades. However, she tested positive for COVID-19 shortly before the Tokyo Games and was unable to compete.
After securing her spot at the 2024 Olympics, she posted to her Instagram story: "ouiiiiiiiii" ("yessssss" in French).
Each Olympic nation is allowed as many as four qualifying spots in the tennis singles tournaments. Currently six other American women are in the top 56.
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