The narrative of women in sports often finds itself relegated to the sidelines. It is our mission to change that, to amplify their accomplishments and to weave a tapestry of stories that inspire and empower. Our weekly column about Latin women in sports seeks applaud their accomplishments, break down barriers, and champion the idea that in sports, as in life, every voice deserves to be heard.
Giuliana Olmos' journey in professional tennis started at home. Born in Austria to Mexican and Austrian parents, Olmos moved to California when she was just a toddler. There, they quickly immersed their three daughters into the world of sports. Olmos started playing tennis when she was just four-years-old, but did not really enjoy it until she got to travel to San Diego for a tournament at the age of 11.
"I just remember loving the feeling of flying to a tournament and staying at a hotel. I felt like a pro," she recalled in an interview with New York Tennis Magazine. "And I loved that. I had the itch to travel and see the world, which really inspired me. Now I'm lucky enough to do that for a living."
When she was young, Olmos also attended local golf tournaments to watch Lorena Ochoa, the former No.1 female golfer in the world, and also to the yearly tennis tournament at Stanford to watch Melissa Torres Sandoval.
"Just to realize Mexico had the No.1 player in the world, even though it was a very different sport, I did appreciate that," Olmos said. "We don't have a lot of players, but I think it's cool just to have someone for the girls that are younger than us to have someone to look up to and strive to be -- and even strive to be better than us. It's cool to know if we can make it, they can make it, too." These yearly trips ignited Olmos' passion for tennis, pushing her to a professional career in the sport.
After focusing full-time on tennis since the age of 11, Olmos' career took off, eventually earning a scholarship at the University of Southern California, where she spent four years in hopes to develop further as a player and reach the WTA Tour.
Following USC's tradition of forming elite Mexican tennis players such as Rafael Osuna, the only Mexican to ever rank No.1 in the world, Olmos' name is the latest addition to the list. After a successful collegiate career at USC, she made history in 2019 by winning a doubles title at a tournament in Nottingham, England, thus becoming the first Mexican player to win a WTA title in the open era.
Olmos did not stop there. Two years later, she played in her first Grand Slam final at the 2021 US Open mixed doubles. Throughout her career in women's tennis, Olmos has reached at least the Quarterfinals in each of the tour's four Grand Slams (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open).
Last year, Olmos continued her rise to stardom as one of her countries best doubles player of all time, becoming the only Mexican woman to be ranked in the WTA's top 10 players in the world, reaching a career-high No.6 ranking during April.
Since winning her first title, Olmos has established herself as a reference and role model for women's tennis and for Latin women in sports. In an interview to WTA, Giuliana Olmos shared how important it is for young athletes to have more opportunities to develop the sport in Latin American countries.
"It's tough in Mexico," Olmos said. "We don't have as many tennis academies as the U.S. I live in Los Angeles and all of our top players live in the States, even on the men's side. A lot of them moved there for tennis. We don't receive as much support from our federation."
With places like Acapulco, Guadalajara and Cancun hosting highly-rated tournaments, Olmos said these initiatives are crucial for the development of the sport in the region. "I think it's really important that our country invests not only in women's sports, but women's tennis."
With 5 doubles titles to her name, Olmos will try to add to her already coveted career and fulfill another dream of hers during this year's Australian Open: win a Grand Slam.
Giuliana Olmos and her doubles partner, Chinese Taipei's Chan Hao-ching, will enter the Australian Open as one of the favorite pair to win the doubles crown. More information on the Australian Open draw will be released in the upcoming week, with Olmos and Chan projected to be one of the 16 seeded couples.
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