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Tennis at the Summer Olympics

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Tennis at the Summer Olympics
Governing bodyITF
Events5 (men: 2; women: 2; mixed: 1)
Summer Olympics
  • 1924
  • 1928
  • 1932
  • 1936
  • 1948
  • 1952
  • 1956
  • 1960
  • 1964
  • 1968
  • 1972
  • 1976
Note: demonstration or exhibition sport years indicated in italics

Tennis

Tennis was part of the Summer Olympic Games program from the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics, but was dropped after the 1924 Summer Olympics due to disputes between the International Lawn Tennis Federation and the International Olympic Committee over how to define amateur players.[1][2] After two appearances as a demonstration sport in 1968 and 1984 (with a U-21 age limit),[3] it returned as a full medal sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics open for all players regardless of their age and status and has been played at every edition of the Games since then.[4]

2012 Women's Singles medalists, Serena Williams (center), Maria Sharapova (right) and Victoria Azarenka (left).

In 1896, 1900, 1904, 1988, and 1992, semifinal losers shared bronze medals. In all other years, a playoff match for the bronze medal was staged.

In the past, results from the Olympics used to have ranking points that the ATP and WTA added to their players' annual totals in singles for that calendar year. This occurred from the 2004 Athens until the 2012 London editions. No points were awarded for the editions prior to and for the 2016 Rio Olympics. While the number of ranking points amount did not equate with those given at the Grand Slam tournaments, the Olympic tournaments have increased in perceived importance since their reintroduction, with some players, critics and sports pundits considering winning gold at the Olympics just as prestigious as winning a Grand Slam title.[5][6]

Serena Williams and Venus Williams have each won a record four gold medals, three each as a doubles pairing, the only players to win the same Olympic event on three occasions. Venus Williams (four gold, one silver) and Kathleen McKane Godfree (one gold, two silvers, and two bronzes) are the all-time record holders for the most Olympic medals in tennis. Andy Murray is the only player to have won two singles gold medals, and the only singles player to have retained the Olympic title. Gigi Fernández and Mary Joe Fernández and Serena and Venus Williams achieved this feat in women’s doubles in 1992 and 1996, and 2008 and 2012 respectively.

A player who wins an Olympic gold medal and all four Grand Slam events in the same year is said to have won a Golden Slam. As of 2020, Steffi Graf is the only player to have completed this achievement.[7]

Summary

Games Year Events Best Nation
1 1896 2  Great Britain
2 1900 4  Great Britain
3 1904 2  United States
4 1908 6  Great Britain
5 1912 8  France
6
7 1920 5  Great Britain
8 1924 5  United States
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19 1968 10  Mexico
20
Games Year Events Best Nation
21
22
23 1984 2  West Germany
24 1988 4  United States
25 1992 4  United States
26 1996 4  United States
27 2000 4  United States
28 2004 4  Chile
29 2008 4  Russia
30 2012 5  United States
31 2016 5  United States
32 2020 5

Surface

The playing surface of the court varies between Olympic Games. It has been on hard court for every game since 1984 except for the 1992 Olympics (which was on a clay court) and the 2012 Olympics (which was played on a grass court). The changing playing surface gives certain players different advantages and disadvantages not seen in most other Olympic sports.

Events

(d) = demonstration event, (e) = exhibition event

Event 96 00 04 08 12 20 24 28–64 68 72–80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years
Men's singles (d, e) (d) 16
Men's singles (indoor) 2
Men's doubles (d, e) 16
Men's doubles (indoor) 2
Women's singles (d, e) (d) 14
Women's singles (indoor) 2
Women's doubles (d, e) 11
Mixed doubles (d, e) 8
Mixed doubles (indoor) 1
Total 2 4 2 6 8 5 5 0 0 0 0 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5
Surface 96 00 04 08 12 20 24 28–64 68 72–80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years
Indoor 2
Outdoor 18
Carpet 0
Clay red 7
Grass 3
Hard 8
Wood 2

Champions and venues

Year Host city Venue Surface Gold medalist
Women's Singles Men's Singles Women's Doubles Men's Doubles Mixed Doubles
1912 Sweden Stockholm Östermalm Tennis Pavilion Clay France Marguerite Broquedis South Africa Charles Winslow Not held South Africa Harold Kitson
South Africa Charles Winslow
German Empire Dorothea Köring
German Empire Heinrich Schomburgk
1920 Belgium Antwerp Beerschot Tennis Club Grass France Suzanne Lenglen South Africa Louis Raymond United Kingdom Kathleen McKane
United Kingdom Winifred McNair
United Kingdom Noel Turnbull
United Kingdom Max Woosnam
France Suzanne Lenglen
France Max Decugis
1924 France Paris Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir Clay United States Helen Wills United States Vincent Richards United States Hazel Wightman
United States Helen Wills
United States Francis Hunter
United States Vincent Richards
United States Hazel Wightman
United States R. Norris Williams
1988 South Korea Seoul Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center Hard West Germany Steffi Graf Czechoslovakia Miloslav Mečíř United States Pam Shriver
United States Zina Garrison
United States Ken Flach
United States Robert Seguso
Not held
1992 Spain Barcelona Tennis de la Vall d'Hebron Clay United States Jennifer Capriati Switzerland Marc Rosset United States Gigi Fernández
United States Mary Joe Fernández
Germany Boris Becker
Germany Michael Stich
1996 United States Atlanta Stone Mountain Tennis Center Hard United States Lindsay Davenport United States Andre Agassi United States Gigi Fernández
United States Mary Joe Fernández
Australia Todd Woodbridge
Australia Mark Woodforde
2000 Australia Sydney Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre (NSW Tennis Centre) Hard United States Venus Williams Russia Yevgeny Kafelnikov United States Serena Williams
United States Venus Williams
Canada Sébastien Lareau
Canada Daniel Nestor
2004 Greece Athens Athens Olympic Tennis Centre Hard Belgium Justine Henin-Hardenne Chile Nicolás Massú China Li Ting
China Sun Tiantian
Chile Fernando González
Chile Nicolás Massú
2008 China Beijing Olympic Green Tennis Center (National Tennis Center) Hard Russia Elena Dementieva Spain Rafael Nadal United States Serena Williams
United States Venus Williams
Switzerland Roger Federer
Switzerland Stanislas Wawrinka
2012 United Kingdom London All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon Grass United States Serena Williams United Kingdom Andy Murray United States Serena Williams
United States Venus Williams
United States Bob Bryan
United States Mike Bryan
Belarus Victoria Azarenka
Belarus Max Mirnyi
2016 Brazil Rio de Janeiro Olympic Tennis Centre, Barra da Tijuca Hard Puerto Rico Monica Puig United Kingdom Andy Murray Russia Ekaterina Makarova
Russia Elena Vesnina
Spain Marc López
Spain Rafael Nadal
United States Bethanie Mattek-Sands
United States Jack Sock
2020 Japan Tokyo Ariake Tennis Park Hard Croatia Nikola Mektić
Croatia Mate Pavić
2024 France Paris Stade Roland Garros Clay
2028 United States Los Angeles Tennis courts at Dignity Health Sports Park Hard

Participating nations

Nation 96 00 04 08 12 20 24 28–64 68 72–80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years
 Algeria 1 1 2
 Argentina 5 1 5 6 8 8 9 6 7 6 10
 Armenia 1 1 1 3
 Australasia 1 1
 Australia 1 2 1 2 3 6 7 7 10 7 8 6 10 10
 Austria 3 3 2 3 5 1 3 1 3 3 2 11
 Bahamas 2 2 2 2 2 5
 Barbados 1 1
 Belarus 2 4 2 5 3 2 6
 Belgium 16 8 1 3 3 3 2 5 3 9
 Benin 1 1
 Bermuda 1 1
 Bohemia 1 4 8 3
 Bolivia 1 1
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 2 2
 Brazil 1 1 3 4 3 4 3 4 4 7 10
 Bulgaria 2 3 2 1 1 2 2 7
 Canada 3 2 7 5 6 4 2 3 5 4 10
 Chile 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 7
 China 1 2 5 4 3 4 8 4 5 9
 Chinese Taipei 1 3 2 1 3 3 5 7
 Colombia 2 2 4 3 4
 Costa Rica 1 1
 Ivory Coast 1 2 1
 Croatia 2 4 5 5 1 2 4 7
 Cyprus 1 1 2
 Czech Republic 4 7 8 11 8 7 6
 Czechoslovakia 7 5 5 5 4
 Denmark 10 3 5 2 1 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 12
 Dominican Republic 1 1 2
 Ecuador 4 3 1 3
 El Salvador 1 1
 Estonia 2 2 2
 Finland 4 1 1 1 1 5
 France 1 14 1 6 10 10 2 4 5 7 4 7 9 8 7 9 16
 Georgia 2 1 2
 Germany 1 1 5 7 6 3 5 4 2 7 8 11
 Great Britain 2 6 22 11 8 10 3 5 6 5 6 1 2 8 7 15
 Greece 7 1 3 2 3 4 2 1 4 2 10
 Haiti 1 1 1 1 4
 Hong Kong 1 1
 Hungary 1 3 6 5 2 1 5 5 4 2 2 2 12
 India 6 1 3 2 2 4 2 4 7 4 10
 Indonesia 1 3 5 2 2 2 6
 Ireland 4 2 2 2 4
 Israel 1 4 1 3 4 3 1 7
 Italy 4 8 3 4 5 8 8 6 6 8 7 7 12
 Japan 2 4 2 2 4 5 7 5 4 3 3 6 12
 Kazakhstan 3 2 2
 Latvia 2 1 1 3
 Liechtenstein 1 1 2
 Lithuania 1 1
 Luxembourg 1 1 1 2 1 1 6
 Madagascar 2 2 1 3
 Mexico 2 6 1 5 4 3 2 2 8
 Moldova 1 1
 Montenegro 1 1
 Morocco 1 2 1 1 2 5
 Netherlands 2 1 5 1 1 5 5 3 2 3 10
 New Zealand 3 1 1 1 2 5
 Nigeria 1 3 1 3
 Norway 7 3 4 2 1 1 6
 Paraguay 2 2 1 1 1 4
 Peru 3 2 1 3
 Philippines 1 1
 Poland 1 3 2 2 6 7 7 7
 Portugal 1 2 2 2 2 5
 Puerto Rico 3 1 2 1 1 5
 Romania 3 5 4 3 2 2 5 6 8
 Russia 2 4 5 9 9 10 8 7
 Serbia and Montenegro 1 1
 Serbia 4 6 6 3
 Slovakia 5 5 7 4 4 3 6
 Slovenia 4 3 4 4 1 5
 South Africa 3 3 5 4 6 6 5 2 8
 Soviet Union 4 7 2
 South Korea 1 5 4 5 4 2 1 7
 Spain 4 8 3 2 4 6 7 7 11 9 12 9 12
 Sweden 4 16 8 4 1 2 3 6 4 5 4 5 3 1 14
 Switzerland 3 4 2 2 4 3 3 4 5 2 2 11
 Thailand 2 2 3 2 1 2 4
 Togo 1 1
 Tunisia 1 1 2 2 4
 Turkey 1 1
 Ukraine 2 2 4 2 6 5
 Unified Team 5 1
 United States 5 35 1 9 6 7 7 7 7 10 10 10 12 11 14
 Uruguay 1 1 2
 Uzbekistan 2 1 1 1 1 5
 Venezuela 3 4 1 1 4
 West Germany 4 3 5 3
 Yugoslavia 1 2 3 3
 Zimbabwe 1 3 2 2 3 3 1 7
Nations 6 4 2 10 14 14 27 15 34 38 48 55 52 52 48 44 56
Players 13 26 36 50 82 75 124 45 64 129 177 176 182 170 169 184 184 184
Nation 96 00 04 08 12 20 24 28–64 68 72–80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20 Years

Medal tables

All years (1896–1924, 1988–2020)

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 United States (USA)2161239
2 Great Britain (GBR)17141243
3 France (FRA)56819
4 Russia (RUS)3328
5 South Africa (RSA)3216
6 Spain (ESP)27312
7 Germany (GER)26210
8 Switzerland (SUI)2204
9 Chile (CHI)2114
10 Mixed team (ZZX)1337
11 Australia (AUS)1135
 Croatia (CRO)1135
13 Czechoslovakia (TCH)1124
14 Belarus (BLR)1012
 Belgium (BEL)1012
 China (CHN)1012
 West Germany (FRG)1012
18 Canada (CAN)1001
 Puerto Rico (PUR)1001
20 Sweden (SWE)0358
21 Czech Republic (CZE)0347
22 Argentina (ARG)0246
23 Japan (JPN)0213
24 Greece (GRE)0112
 Netherlands (NED)0112
26 Austria (AUT)0101
 Denmark (DEN)0101
 Romania (ROM)0101
29 Unified Team (EUN)0022
30 Australasia (ANZ)0011
 Bohemia (BOH)0011
 Bulgaria (BUL)0011
 Hungary (HUN)0011
 India (IND)0011
 Italy (ITA)0011
 Norway (NOR)0011
 Serbia (SRB)0011
Totals (37 entries)676882217

1988–2016

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 United States (USA)143724
2 Russia (RUS)3328
3 Spain (ESP)27312
4 Germany (GER)2428
5 Great Britain (GBR)2204
 Switzerland (SUI)2204
7 Chile (CHI)2114
8 Australia (AUS)1135
 Croatia (CRO)1135
10 Czechoslovakia (TCH)1113
11 Belarus (BLR)1012
 Belgium (BEL)1012
 China (CHN)1012
14 Canada (CAN)1001
 Puerto Rico (PUR)1001
16 Czech Republic (CZE)0246
17 Argentina (ARG)0235
18 France (FRA)0224
19 Sweden (SWE)0123
20 Netherlands (NED)0101
 Romania (ROM)0101
 South Africa (RSA)0101
23 Unified Team (EUN)0022
24 Bulgaria (BUL)0011
 India (IND)0011
 Japan (JPN)0011
 Serbia (SRB)0011
Totals (27 entries)353542112

1896–1924

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Great Britain (GBR)15121239
2 United States (USA)73515
3 France (FRA)54615
4 South Africa (RSA)3115
5 Mixed team (ZZX)1337
6 Germany (GER)1214
7 Sweden (SWE)0235
8 Japan (JPN)0202
9 Greece (GRE)0112
10 Austria (AUT)0101
 Denmark (DEN)0101
12 Australasia (ANZ)0011
 Bohemia (BOH)0011
 Czechoslovakia (TCH)0011
 Hungary (HUN)0011
 Italy (ITA)0011
 Netherlands (NED)0011
 Norway (NOR)0011
Totals (18 entries)323239103

Multiple medal winners (1896–2016)

Rank Name Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 United States Venus Williams 4 1 0 5
2 United States Serena Williams 4 0 0 4
3 United Kingdom Reginald Doherty 3 0 1 4
4 United States Vincent Richards 2 1 0 3
United Kingdom Andy Murray 2 1 0 3
6 United Kingdom Laurence Doherty 2 0 1 3
United States Mary Joe Fernández 2 0 1 3
France Suzanne Lenglen 2 0 1 3
South Africa Charles Winslow 2 0 1 3
10 Spain Rafael Nadal 2 0 0 2
United Kingdom John Pius Boland 2 0 0 2
United Kingdom Charlotte Cooper 2 0 0 2
United States Gigi Fernández 2 0 0 2
France André Gobert 2 0 0 2
United Kingdom Arthur Gore 2 0 0 2
United Kingdom Edith Hannam 2 0 0 2
Chile Nicolás Massú 2 0 0 2
United States Hazel Wightman 2 0 0 2
United States Helen Wills Moody 2 0 0 2
United States Beals Wright 2 0 0 2
21 United Kingdom Kathleen McKane Godfree 1 2 2 5
22 United Kingdom Charles Dixon 1 1 2 4
23 France Max Décugis 1 1 1 3
Chile Fernando González 1 1 1 3
Germany Steffi Graf 1 1 1 3
United Kingdom Josiah Ritchie 1 1 1 3
27 United Kingdom Herbert Barrett 1 1 0 2
Russia Elena Dementieva 1 1 0 2
Switzerland Roger Federer 1 1 0 2
South Africa Harold Kitson 1 1 0 2
Germany Dorothea Köring 1 1 0 2
Australia Todd Woodbridge 1 1 0 2
Australia Mark Woodforde 1 1 0 2
United Kingdom Max Woosnam 1 1 0 2
35 United States Mike Bryan 1 0 2 3
36 Belarus Victoria Azarenka 1 0 1 2
France Marguerite Broquedis 1 0 1 2
United States Bob Bryan 1 0 1 2
United States Zina Garrison 1 0 1 2
United States Edgar Leonard 1 0 1 2
Czechoslovakia Miloš Mečíř 1 0 1 2
United States Jack Sock 1 0 1 2
43 Spain Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 0 2 2 4
Sweden Gunnar Setterwall 0 2 2 4
45 United Kingdom Harold Mahony 0 2 1 3
Spain Conchita Martínez 0 2 1 3
Czech Republic Jana Novotná 0 2 1 3
48 United Kingdom George Caridia 0 2 0 2
France Henri Cochet 0 2 0 2
United Kingdom Dorothy Holman 0 2 0 2
Greece Dionysios Kasdaglis 0 2 0 2
Japan Ichiya Kumagae 0 2 0 2
United States Robert LeRoy 0 2 0 2
France Yvonne Prévost 0 2 0 2
Spain Virginia Ruano Pascual 0 2 0 2
Czech Republic Helena Suková 0 2 0 2
57 United States Alphonzo Bell 0 1 1 2
Sweden Sigrid Fick 0 1 1 2
Argentina Juan Martín del Potro 0 1 1 2
60 France Albert Canet 0 0 2 2
Sweden Stefan Edberg 0 0 2 2
Croatia Goran Ivanišević 0 0 2 2
United States Marion Jones 0 0 2 2
United Kingdom Arthur Norris 0 0 2 2
Bohemia Hedwiga Rosenbaumová 0 0 2 2

See also

References

  1. ^ Soltis, Greg (July 27, 2012). "Olympic Events Through History". LiveScience. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  2. ^ Williams, Wythe (July 27, 1928). "SOCCER AND TENNIS BARRED IN OLYMPICS". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  3. ^ "Olympic Tennis Event – History: Overview". International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  4. ^ "2 More Olympic Games". The New York Times. October 2, 1981. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  5. ^ "Olympics or Slams – What's More Important For Tennis Players?". Let, Second Serve. July 12, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  6. ^ Paul Fein (September 20, 2012). "How Important Is an Olympic Gold Medal in Tennis?". World Tennis Magazine. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
  7. ^ Tignor, Steve (30 July 2015). "1988: Steffi Graf wins the Golden Slam". Tennis.com. Retrieved 17 September 2017.