USA Race to Rio: Olympics Update #2

We're now halfway through the Race to Rio.

Two months ago, I posted the first standings showing how US tennis players were faring in the race to grab eight spots for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. With the end of the season upon us, I thought it was a good time to provide an update.

As mentioned in the prior post, the top 4 American men in the ATP rankings will join the top 4 American women in the WTA rankings to make up the singles contingent, so long as all are ranked in the Top 70 or so. (As for doubles, my understanding of the rules is that only players in the Top 10 are assured spots. Beyond that there will likely be some jockeying for spots based on what singles players also want to play doubles, and with whom.)

Since October's post, very little has changed on the women's side. Venus Williams, who had such a strong finish to the year, added 800 points and solidified her position at the #2 spot. She can pretty much book her ticket to Brazil. Also, Madison Keys increased her lead from 70 over Sloane Stephens and 86 over CoCo Vandeweghe to 229 and 246, respectively. Anna Tatishvili moved up 3 spots to #8, while Nicole Gibbs also moved up 3 spots, to #11.

For the men, John Isner is still well in front, while Steve Johnson and Jack Sock both leapfrogged Denis Kudla thanks to strong European indoor results (each reached a final and a semifinal). Donald Young ate into Kudla's lead over him, from 213 points to 144 points. But the biggest jump belonged to 18-year-old Taylor Fritz, who had just 10 points two months ago and now has 265 -- good enough for 10th place, and less than 200 points behind 5th-place Young.

Stay tuned for another update after the Australian Open, when the races for the Olympic spots will become much clearer.

See the full database of Americans in the Top 200 and where they stand in their respective races.

Race to Rio - USA Women as of December 11, 2015

Player	Race to Rio points 12/11/2015
1. S. Williams	4060
2. V. Williams	2452
3. Keys	1126
4. Stephens	897
5. Vandeweghe	880
6. Mattek-Sands	657
7. Lepchenko	645
8. Tatishvili	485
9. McHale	479
10. Brengle	449
11. Gibbs	442
12. Falconi	389
13. Riske	358
14. Davis	341
15. Crawford	310
16. Chirico	283

Race to Rio - USA Men as of December 11, 2015

Player	Race to Rio points 12/11/2015
1. Isner	1555
2. Johnson	916
3. Sock	845
4. Kudla	595
5. Young	451
6. Querrey	415
7. Ram	402
8. Krajicek	331
9. Fratangelo	284
10. Fritz	265
11. Donaldson	259
12. Novikov	254
13. Smyczek	203
14. Harrison	175
15. Tiafoe	120