2012 Olympic Games – Two-Year Out Preview (tennis)

* information current as of July 19, 2010

A two-time gold medalist in doubles with sister Venus (2000 and 2008), Serena will seek her first singles medal at the site where she recently captured her 13^th Grand Slam title. With her fourth Wimbledon title in hand, Williams passed Billie Jean King for sixth most career Grand Slam singles titles. One of only six women in history to simultaneously hold the top ranking in both singles and doubles, Williams is expected to compete in singles and doubles in London and has also discussed the possibility of playing mixed doubles with Andy Roddick.

Already a three-time gold medalist (singles and doubles in 2000 and doubles in 2008), the former world No. 1 hopes to be the first American to compete in four Olympic tennis competitions in London. Williams will seek her fourth gold medal at Wimbledon where she has her most success, winning five singles titles (2000-1, 2005, 2007-08) and four women’s doubles titles (2000, 2002, 2008-09). She also reached the Wimbledon mixed doubles final with American Bob Bryan in 2006.

Oudin will seek to compete in her first Olympic games at Wimbledon where she first broke out in 2009, defeating former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic en route to the fourth round. Later that year, Oudin became the youngest American in 10 years to reach the quarterfinals at the US Open. She made her U.S. Fed Cup team debut in 2009 and has since helped lead the team to consecutive Fed Cup Finals in 2009 and 2010.

King is looking to compete in her first Olympics at Wimbledon, where she recently won her first Grand Slam doubles title, establishing herself as one of the top doubles players in the world. King has represented the U.S. Fed Cup team every year since 2006, including the 2009 Fed Cup Final vs. Italy. Also an accomplished singer, King sang “America the Beautiful” in Arthur Ashe Stadium during the 2006 US Open, and recently sang the National Anthem prior to a Los Angeles Dodgers game.

A last-minute addition to the 2008 Olympic team because of withdrawals, Craybas will seek to participate in her second consecutive Games. She has had moderate success at Wimbledon during her career, including an upset of Serena Williams in the 2005 third round (l. to eventual champion Venus Williams in the round of 16). She is also a veteran of the U.S. Fed Cup team, making her debut in 2004. Craybas won the 1996 NCAA singles title as a senior at the University of Florida, leading the Gators to an undefeated season and team title. She played for the University of Texas her first two years, helping the Longhorns win the team title in 1993, making her the only player to member of NCAA championship teams at two different schools.

Mattek-Sands was derailed by injury after reaching a career-high No. 37 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour in March 2009. Wimbledon played host to her best Grand Slam showing, as she reached the round of 16 in 2008 (l. to eventual runner-up Serena Williams). A top 20 doubles player as well, Mattek-Sands became the first-ever U.S. Fed Cup player to win two live matches on the final day of competition to lead the U.S. to a 3-2 victory over Russia in the 2010 semifinals.

A rising star before suffering a knee injury in 2007, Perry was the last remaining American in the 2006 Wimbledon singles draw, reaching the round the 16. The Washington, D.C., native made her U.S. Fed Cup debut in 2006.

McHale was a member of the inaugural class of kids to begin training full-time at the USTA Training Center Headquarters in 2007, and in 2009 she swept the singles and doubles titles at the USTA Girls’ 18s National Championships. That year, she went on to become just the second U.S. National Girls’ Champion since 2000 to win a US Open main draw match before losing to Maria Sharapova in the second round. McHale was a member of the U.S. Fed Cup team at the 2010 quarterfinal in France and also helped lead the U.S. to the 2008 Junior Fed Cup title.

The daughter of Tauna Vandeweghe, an Olympic swimmer in 1976 and Olympic volleyball player in 1984, and niece of former NBA star Kiki Vandeweghe, Coco burst onto the tennis scene in 2008 when she became the first American to win the girls’ singles title at the US Open since 1995. Vandeweghe trains at the USTA Training Center-West in Carson, Calif. and has steadily been progressing up the world rankings.

The daughter of former New England Patriots running back John Stephens (who passed away during the 2009 US Open), Sloane turned pro in 2009 after success on the junior circuit. This year, she won her second career WTA Tour-level match at Indian Wells. She has also had junior success at Wimbledon, winning the 2010 girls’ doubles title and reaching the back-to-back girls’ singles quarterfinals in 2009-10. Stephens trains at the USTA Training Center-West in Carson, Calif., and helped lead the U.S. to the 2008 Junior Fed Cup title.

Huber accomplished her “American Deam” of representing the U.S. at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing after becoming a U.S. citizen a year earlier. A doubles quarterfinalist in Beijing, Huber previously competed in doubles for South Africa in 2000. She won two Wimbledon doubles titles (2005, 2007) and has won three decisive Fed Cup matches for the U.S. in five ties since the start of 2009.

A three-time Olympian who could join Venus Williams as the only U.S. tennis players to compete in four Olympics if both players qualify for London, Davenport is making her return to professional tennis in 2010 after the birth of her second child in January 2009. The daughter of Olympian Wink Davenport, who competed in men’s volleyball in 1968, Davenport won the women’s singles gold medal in 1996. She’s also had success at Wimbledon, reaching three singles final and sweeping the 1999 singles and doubles titles. Davenport has also compiled a 33-3 career record in Fed Cup competition, and led the U.S. to back-to-back Fed Cup titles in 1999-2000.

The former world No. 1 and 2003 US Open champion looks to make his second Olympic appearance after debuting in Athens (l. in quarterfinals to eventual bronze medalist Fernando Gonzalez) and skipping Beijing in order to prepare for the 2008 US Open. Roddick is expected to take his strong grass court game to Wimbledon, where he is a three-time singles finalist and took part in the longest fifth set in Wimbledon final history in 2009 (l. to Federer 16-14 in the fifth set). Roddick is also one of the most decorated members of the U.S. Davis Cup team, ranking second all-time with 31 singles victories through the 2010 first round. He has a 73-17 career record on grass courts and has won the title at Queen’s Club four times (2003-05, 2007).

Isner hopes to make his Olympic debut at Wimbledon where in 2010 he competed in the longest match in tennis history, defeating Nicolas Mahut 70-68 in the fifth set of their first round match that spanned 11 hours over three days. A former All-American at the University of Georgia, Isner returned from a bout with mononucleosis in 2009 to reach the round of 16 at the 2009 US Open and the 2010 Australian Open. He made his U.S. Davis Cup team debut against Serbia in 2010 where he became the first American to play in three matches in one Davis Cup tie since James Blake in 2002.

Querrey looks to return to the Olympics after debuting in both singles and doubles in Beijing. He has returned to achieve a career-high ranking in 2010 following a career-threatening arm injury suffered in September 2009 during a freak accident when he fell through a glass table in the players lounge in Bangkok while putting on his shoes (the cut narrowly missed damaging nerves in his serving arm). A player with an all-court game, he has already won ATP Tour titles on all three surfaces, including his first grass court title at the Wimbledon tune-up at Queen’s Club in 2010. Querrey made his Davis Cup debut at the 2008 semifinal at Spain against world No. 1 Rafael Nadal (l. in four sets). Querrey has a 20-12 career record on grass.

Haas, who became a U.S. citizen in 2010, could become a U.S. Olympian for the first time in 2012 after serving as a two-time Olympian for Germany, for whom he won the silver medal in men’s singles in Sydney. A long-time participant on the German Davis Cup team, Haas has compiled a 22-8 Davis Cup record and helped lead Germany to the 2007 semifinals. A Wimbledon semifinalist in 2009, Haas has a 42-20 career record on grass.

Ginepri looks to make his second straight Olympic appearance in London after debuting in Beijing. He is the only active American besides Andy Roddick to reach a Grand Slam semifinal (2005 US Open), and he a won his first career ATP Tour title on grass courts in Newport, R.I. He has a 24-25 career grass court record.

Blake pulled off the biggest upset of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing when he beat Roger Federer in the quarterfinals; he was unable to medal. Blake lost a controversial semifinal to eventual silver medalist Fernando Gonzalez then fell to to Novak Djokovic in the bronze medal match. A Davis Cup stalwart, Blake has a 21-12 career Davis Cup record through 2010 and won two matches to help lead the U.S. to the 2007 Davis Cup title. Blake is 31-24 in his career on grass and is a two time finalist at Queen’s Club (2006, 2009).

Fish could return to the Olympics for the first time since 2004, when he won the silver medal in Athens after losing to Nicolas Massu of Chile in five sets. Fish has modest success on grass, where he has a career 39-24 record, including capturing his first career grass court title in Newport, R.I., in 2010. Fish made his Davis Cup debut in 2002 and is 6-6 Davis Cup competition.

Dent could make his second Olympic appearance after being only games away from capturing the bronze medal in 2004, losing to Fernando Gonzalez 6-4, 2-6, 16-14, in the bronze medal match. Dent returned to professional tennis in 2009 following a career-threatening back injury (he was in a full body cast for 6 months in 2007) and recently returned to the Top 100. A serve-and-volley player with a game that caters to grass, Dent reached the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2005 and has a career 29-22 grass court record. He is the cousin of Misty May, who won back-to-back Olympic gold medals in beach volleyball in 2004 and 2008. He is married to former tennis pro Jenny Hopkins. They have a son named Declan.

The former top-ranked junior player in the world has competed in all four Grand Slams, and hopes to make his Olympic debut at Wimbledon, where he captured the 2007 boys’ singles title.

Harrison first made waves in 2008 when as a 15-year-old he won his first round match at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships in Houston to become the third-youngest player since 1990 to win a main-draw match on the ATP Tour. Showing that he can compete on all surfaces, he reached the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon grass tune-up event in Nottingham, England in 2010.

One of the most decorated juniors in U.S. history, Sock has won 17 career titles at various USTA National Championships. He was named a U.S. Davis Cup practice partner for the first round tie in Serbia in March 2010.

A native of Kiev, Ukraine, Kudla is a rising star who was named a U.S. Davis Cup practice partner for the first round tie in Serbia in March 2010. As a junior, Kudla reached the boys’ quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 2010.

Bob and Mike Bryan look to make their third consecutive trip to the Olympics after capturing the bronze medal at the in Beijing, losing to eventual gold medalists Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland in the semifinals. The Bryans are currently tied for the all-time record with 61 career doubles titles and have won eight Grand Slam titles, including Wimbledon in 2006. The brothers are also 17-2 together in Davis Cup play, having anchored the doubles match since 2002.