Paris Olympics: Irate Tennis Fans Scream Foul at USTA For Mishandling Coco Gauff Led American Team

This is a big year for tennis due to the excitement surrounding the Summer Olympics. However, a wet blanket has been thrown over Nicole Melichar-Martinez’s expectations. There have been a few paradoxical setbacks and disappointments for the Paris quadrennial event. Some players who are given the chance to represent their nation have withdrawn from the tournament citing health reasons. However, on the other side a country did not nominate player who is eager to take the court. Martinez became the prey of the latter event, as USTA didn’t nominate her for Paris.

Emma Raducanu, Aryna Sabalenka, and Paula Badosa pulled out of the prestigious tournament, citing frequent change of surfaces. Going for a safe option, Sabalenka stated, “I prefer to have a little rest to make sure physically and health-wise I’m ready for the hard courts, and I’ll have a good preparation before going to the hard court season. I feel that this is safer and better for my body.” The Belarusian tennis star had a successful hard court season, as she reclaimed the Australian Open 2024. It seems the player wants to focus on the upcoming hard-court major, the US Open.

The USTA announced its squad for the Paris Olympics. The list featured all known names in the circuit, led by the young sensation Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Danielle Collins, and Emma Navarro. But to the surprise of tennis fans, the list didn’t feature No.1 American doubles player, Martinez. Following the snub, Martinez updated her fans through X, “Some of you have been wondering, so here is my update regarding @Olympics @usta @ITFTennis.” She shared a note detailing the heartbreak and support of the selected players. This news did not sit well with tennis fans.

Unlike the players walking out of the Olympics, the World No.10, Martinez was ready to give it all on the Clay Court and bring the Glory home. However, with the chance snatched from the top player without any justification. Tennis fans have taken it upon themselves to poke the USTA, for the reason of this injustice done to Martinez.

Tennis Fans slam USTA for their ‘horrible’ decision 

The moment USTA announced its high-profile line up for the upcoming Paris Olympics. Tennis fans were troubled with one thought, where is the home favorite doubles player? The fans posed the same question while mentioning Martinez’s qualification ” Where is Nicole Melichar – Martinez? She is currently the highest-ranked American player in doubles.” During the last Olympics, Coco Gauff was unable to represent America due to COVID-19. However, this time a potential asset to the team is not given a chance.

With no reason for such snub in sight, another tennis fan was horrified with Martinez skipping. “This is MESSED UP. Nicole Melichar-Martinez worked her ass off with great results all year to finish Top 10 in Doubles and rightfully earn a spot in the Olympics. Then the USTA decides to play favorites and not send her? Horrible, horrible horrible. They should be ashamed.” It takes years for a player’s Olympic dream to come true, however, it gets quashed by officials in less than a minute. There are two necessary conditions for a doubles player to participate in the Olympics. First, they should be in the top 10 of the ranking. Followed by the nomination from their country. In Martinez’s case, despite fulfilling the 1st condition, she would not be able to stand on the Paris clay. 

AMany players have withdrawn from the Olympics due to various reasons. A tennis fan was curious, as all the top players featured in the USTA lineup, except Martinez. Moreover, before she took to X to explain the snub fans would have thought that Martinez had let go of her Olympics dream. As they tweeted, “Stacked lineup for Team USA 🇺🇸 as expected but a lot of notable absences…Curious about which players opted not to play vs. others who got overlooked despite qualifying on paper 🤔”

“Would love @nicole_melichar to confirm/explain but it looks like even though she automatically qualified as a Top 10 player, the USTA decided to ignore their 6th player option and excluded her from the team. Can’t see her declining as she was so excited/proud to play in Tokyo.” Said another tennis fan, and it seems Martinez has heard this plea as she shared her side of the story. She said, “Many have asked about my nomination, so I want to clarify what happened. I am absolutely eager and available to represent Team USA in Paris, but unfortunately, I was not selected.”

At the end, fans reiterated the same thought, “How come no @nicole_melichar? 🧐” The top players are the priority, as they have the highest probability of winning relative to others. And to continue with their decorated tennis performance at the Paris, they certainly need Martinez to support others in the double format.

However, the USTA has yet to comment and calm down the tennis community. Martinez didn’t forget the sportsmanship as she is cheering with her hands in the air, for the US team to bring Gold back home!