White Plains, NY – Twelve players, including John Isner, Andy Roddick and Serena Williams, were named to the United States tennis team for the London Olympic Games.
The tennis portion of the Games will be held from July 28-August 5 at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, the famed site of the ongoing Wimbledon Championships.
U.S. men's tennis coach Jay Berger nominated a six-player team consisting of four singles entries and two doubles teams. The 2004 Olympian Roddick was named, along with Isner, Ryan Harrison and Donald Young in singles. The 2008 bronze medalists in men's doubles, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, will return to the Olympics as a U.S. men's doubles team, with Isner and Roddick making up a second doubles squad.
"Our guys are honored to be representing their country, and are relishing the opportunity to compete for gold at Wimbledon," said Berger, who has been the USTA Player Development Head of Men's Tennis since 2008. "I am confident that we will be in medal contention in both singles and doubles."
Team USA's women's coach Mary Joe Fernandez also nominated a six-person team with four singles entries and two doubles teams. The 13-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena will compete in the singles competition along with Christina McHale, Varvara Lepchenko and three-time Olympic gold medalist Venus Williams, who will be competing in her fourth Olympics. The world No. 1 doubles team of Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond will compete for the U.S. in doubles, as will the Williams sisters, who are undefeated in Olympic doubles competition and will be seeking their third gold medal together (2000, 2008).
"We have a very experienced team replete with gold medalists and a doubles team that is currently the best in the world," said Fernandez, who has led the U.S. Fed Cup Team to the Fed Cup final in two of her three years as captain. "I am honored to have the opportunity to coach this team at the Olympics and firmly believe that we have a team capable of competing for multiple medals."
The U.S. will also nominate two teams in mixed doubles -- which will be contested at the Olympic Games for the first time since tennis returned to the Games in 1988 -- comprised from among the 12 players and named once all players are on site.
The Americans have won 17 Olympic medals -- more than any other nation -- in men's and women's tennis since it returned as a full medal sport in 1988.
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