From college to Centre Court, Giuliana Olmos is the latest Mexican tennis icon

It’s the Monday morning after the US Open has ended. WTA doubles player Giuliana “GuGu” Olmos is practicing with her good friend and prior doubles partner, Desirae Krawczyk, at the Los Angeles Tennis Club (LATC). L.A. is in the middle of a heat wave, so by 10:00 a.m. it’s already north of 90 degrees.

Amid the soaring temperature and water breaks, the two crisply conduct their practice session. They’re focused largely on the skills that matter to doubles players—volleys, returns, overheads. Balls fly by swiftly.

“She never misses,” said Krawczyk. “She’s always going to give you a good workout, always going to give 100 percent. I can help her out and she can help me out. It’s so much fun.”

It’s fitting that Olmos, who earned All-American honors at the University of Southern California and has played 36 Billie Jean King Cup matches for Mexico, has made the LATC one of her primary practice centers. The greatest Mexican-born tennis player in tennis history, Hall of Famer Rafael Osuna, also starred at USC during the years when the Trojans practiced and played their home matches at the LATC. In 1963, Osuna helped lead USC to its second of three straight NCAA titles. Later that year, he won the U.S. National singles (now the US Open). Osuna also earned another three Grand Slam doubles titles.

Nearly a decade later, another Mexican, Raul Ramirez, came north to USC and went on to enjoy an excellent pro career, winning three doubles majors and reaching a career-high ranking of No. 4 in singles in 1976. Prior to those two came the legendary Pancho Gonzalez, an American of Mexican heritage who practiced and competed frequently at the LATC, won titles in the 1940s, ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s, and has often been considered the greatest competitor in tennis history.

Now comes Olmos. Born in Schwarzach im Pongau, Austria to an Austrian mother, Marian, and a Mexican father, Roman, Olmos moved to Northern California at the age of two. She grew up in Fremont, a San Francisco Bay Area suburb. Marian worked as a paralegal, Roman as an engineer. Naturally, Giuliana became a tennis player.

She never associated her self-worth with her results. She knows herself so well and is strong, independent, and thoughtful. Richard Gallien, Olmos' coach at USC

The spark lit for Olmos when she was 11. After already playing for a few years under Roman’s tutelage, she flew to San Diego for a tournament and stayed in a hotel

“I remember feeling like, ‘Wow, I feel like a pro, this is so cool,’” said Olmos. “I wanted that to be my life.”

By 16, she had the chance to represent Mexico.

“It was fun,” said Olmos.  “I was the youngest one on the team. . .I’ve always liked team events, and I think representing your country is really cool.”

That Olmos had already competed on a team prior to college made her an exemplary member of the USC squad, where she played for four years, graduating in 2016 with a degree in international relations. She also earned the ITA/Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award, both for an excellent attitude on the court and for creating the Rose Cup, an event that helps raise money for breast cancer research.

“She was extremely rewarding to work with,” said Olmos’ USC coach, Richard Gallien. “She never associated her self-worth with her results. She knows herself so well and is strong, independent, and thoughtful.”

For all Olmos brought to USC and accomplished there, she credits Gallien with helping her learn to compete more effectively.

“He came to my career at a very valuable time,” she said. “I was still very young and immature. He told me so many things, including that I should smile when I was competing—to just enjoy the battle and the fight.”

A positive attitude was exceptionally important for Olmos during her early years as a pro. Like all tennis players, Olmos had always dreamed of singles greatness. But attaining results was not easy. In March 2019, nearly three years after graduating USC, Olmos had reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 343.

A typical week in tennis’ minor leagues happened in Budapest, where Olmos shared a single room in an apartment with fellow Trojan Kaitlyn Christian. As new occupants trekked in and out of the unit seemingly 24-7, Olmos and Christian fretted about potential robberies and dined daily on 62-cent slices of pizza. Only at one tournament in 2019 did Olmos earn more than $2,000 in singles prize money. Back home in L.A., to supplement her earnings, Olmos gave private tennis lessons.

But doubles offered other opportunities. In 2019, Olmos paired with Krawczyk to win the WTA event in Nottingham—and $6,150. Nine months later, just prior to the pandemic, the two took the title in Acapulco, and $6,790. Eager as Olmos was to soldier on in singles, she was proving far more successful in doubles.

As more and more ITF tournaments vanished amid the pandemic, Olmos subsequently threw herself into doubles. Paired in 2021 with Sharon Fichman, the two won Rome, reached the finals in Guadalajara, the semis in Miami and Berlin, the quarters at the Australian Open, and qualified for the WTA Finals. By the end of ’21, Olmos doubles ranking had soared into the Top 20.

Over the next couple of years, she cracked the Top 10, peaking at No. 6 in the spring of 2023.

“It just started happening,” said Olmos. “I was getting into Slams.” (And as you can tell in less than ten minutes, from hotels to practice courts to meal options, life on the Hologic WTA Tour is vastly different than the ITF circuit.)

It's definitely always been a goal of mine, but to be completely honest, it was a goal I never thought I would reach. Olmos on representing Mexico at the Olympic Games

Olmos’ upbeat attitude, sharp groundstrokes, and all-court versatility has also made her an excellent mixed doubles partner. In 2021, she reached the finals of the US Open alongside Marcelo Arevalo, beaten in the end by Krawczyk and Joe Salisbury, 7-5, 6-2. Olmos also went that far this year with compatriot Santiago Gonzalez. With Gonzalez having been injured a few weeks prior to Wimbledon, Olmos kept her expectations to a minimum.

“I figured we should just have fun, represent Mexico, and enjoy ourselves, she said. “Santi played great all week.

“And it was so cool to walk out on Centre Court to play the final.”

On that day, they lost to the fine team of Jan Zielinski and Hsieh Su-Wei, 6-4, 6-2, but it remained an unqualified success. The Wimbledon final took place three years to the day Olmos married Reuben Peters, a commercial real estate professional she’d met at USC.

Amazingly, also on that day in 2021, Olmos learned she was going to represent Mexico in the Olympics.

“I remember I was driving at the time and about to make a left turn, and when my coach told me I just couldn't believe it,” Olmos said in a 2021 article that appeared in Long Island Tennis Magazine. “I almost hit another car, and my husband had to grab the steering wheel to put me back into the lane. . . .

“It's definitely always been a goal of mine, but to be completely honest, it was a goal I never thought I would reach.”

In Tokyo that year, Olmos and Renata Zarazua became the first Mexican women to compete in the Olympic tennis event in 24 years (they lost in the first round to Paula Badosa and Sara Sorribes Tormo).

Peters played football for USC. Olmos believes Peters’ athletic background is one of many attributes that helps him understand her life as a professional athlete, in everything from the constant demands of travel to the frequent need for practice time and managing the pressures of competition. When home, Olmos greatly enjoys living in Los Angeles, where she can do everything from go to various restaurants or head a few miles west to the beach in Santa Monica for an afternoon of rollerblading.

Three days after the practice session with Krawczyk, Olmos was off to Asia for a six-week string of tournaments. A strong spirit of curiosity compels Olmos to explore much wherever she goes, be it taking a cooking class in Rome or exploring other cultural spots. On the current Asian trip, Olmos has brought along her close friend, physical therapist Natalie Meinhold.

Though the two first met when Olmos saw Meinhold for treatment, Meinhold’s primary mission is to provide friendship, candy—yes—and, perhaps most important of all, the upbeat attitude towards competition Gallien suggested years ago.

“I can tell when she’s getting pretty serious,” said Meinhold. “She plays her best when she’s having fun. So I’ll just give her a big smile, and then she gets a smile going.”

Now 31 years old, ranked No. 33 in doubles in late September, Olmos can likely play doubles tournaments for several more years. Still, she’s already looking ahead, envisioning another way to engage with the sport she so loves.

“I’d really like to coach a college team,” she said. “Ideally, it would be USC, but I know I need to get experience too.”

The candy Meinhold is most charged with delivering is Haribo, a chewy, gummy bear-like confection. But be it on a college campus, with friends, in marriage, as a women’s or mixed doubles partner, or when representing Mexico, there’s no question that team play is truly Giuliana Olmos’ sweet spot.