Flag Switch: Promising teen tennis player switches USA to represent Italy

17-year-old star Tyra Grant, who holds dual Italian and American citizenship, has decided to represent the European country, so she will appear under the Italian flag starting Monday, according to a report by The Athletic.

Grant was born in Rome to an Italian mother and an American father. She developed throughout her junior career in the USA and has lived in Italy since 2023. The teenager is considered one of the great promises for the coming years, winning three junior Grand Slam doubles titles. In addition, she already has two ITF tournament titles.

Grant had previously been supported by the USTA, which allowed her to obtain a wildcard into the US Open qualifying and her first appearance in a WTA 1000 main draw a few weeks ago at the Miami Open (loss to Julia Grabher).

The 17-year-old will have another opportunity on the WTA Tour starting this week, as she received a wildcard to participate in the singles draw at the Rome Open, which begins on May 7th. Confirmation from the Italian Tennis Federation is still pending and should arrive in the coming days.

Grant will appear this week at her career-high ranking of world No. 335, after advancing 21 positions following her run to the second round of qualifying at the Madrid Open against Aliaksandra Sasnovich. In the first round, she had defeated 2022 Wimbledon semifinalist Tatjana Maria.