Tennis at the Summer Olympics

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 summer Games since then.[4]

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

In 1896, 1900, 1904, 1988, 1992, semifinal losers shared bronze medals. In all other years, a playoff match for the bronze medal was staged. From the 2004 until the 2012 Summer Olympics, results from the Olympics had ranking points that the ATP and WTA added to their players' annual totals in singles for that calendar year. This was discontinued beginning with the 2016 Summer Olympics. While the number of ranking points did not equate with those given at the majors, 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 major title and some considering it even more prestigious.[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 tennis medals, with five each. Andy Murray is the only player to have won two singles gold medals, and the only singles player to have retained the Olympic title. Nicolás Massú, Venus Williams, and Serena Williams are the only players in the Open Era to win both the singles and same-sex doubles tournaments at one Games, doing so in 2004, 2000, and 2012 respectively. A player who wins an Olympic or Paralympic gold medal and all four majors in the same year is said to have won a Golden Slam, while a player that has won all four Grand Slam titles and Olympic gold during their career has a 'career Golden Slam'. As of 2021, Steffi Graf is the only player to have won a single-year Golden Slam, in 1988. Serena Williams has won a career Golden Slam twice over, the only singles player to do so. In men's tennis, Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal have each won career Golden Slams. Multiple doubles players have achieved the feat, with Serena Williams the only player to complete the career Grand Slam in both singles and doubles.[7] In 2021, wheelchair tennis players Diede de Groot and Dylan Alcott achieved the equivalent wheelchair tennis prize with Paralympic gold.[8]

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

Since 2021, in line with all Grand Slam tournaments, the deciding set (third) has a 7-point tiebreaker game to decide the match at 6-all. Should the tiebreaker game be tied at 6-all, whoever scores two straight points wins it.

Summary

Games Year Events Best Nation
118962 Great Britain
219004 Great Britain
319042 United States
419086 Great Britain
519128 France
6
719205 Great Britain
819245 United States
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Games Year Events Best Nation
17
18
19196810 Mexico
20
21
22
2319842 West Germany
2419884 United States
2519924 United States
2619964 United States
2720004 United States
2820044 Chile
2920084 Russia
3020125 United States
3120165 United States
3220205 ROC

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), the 2012 Olympics (which was played on a grass court) and the 2024 Olympics (which will be on a clay 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

Event9600040812202428–646872–8084889296000408121620Years
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 24268550000444444555
Surface9600040812202428–646872–8084889296000408121620Years
Indoor 2
Outdoor 18
Carpet 0
Clay 7
Grass 3
Hard 8
Wood 2

Champions and venues

Year Host city Venue Surface Gold medalist(s)
Men's singles Women's singles Men's doubles Women's doubles Mixed doubles
Amateur era (1896–1924)
1896 Greece Athens Athens Lawn Tennis Club Clay United Kingdom John Boland Not held United Kingdom John Boland
German Empire Friedrich Traun
Not held Not held
1900 France Paris Cercle des Sports, Île de Puteaux Clay United Kingdom Laurence Doherty United Kingdom Charlotte Cooper United Kingdom Laurence Doherty
United Kingdom Reginald Doherty
United Kingdom Charlotte Cooper
United Kingdom Reginald Doherty
1904 United States St. Louis Francis Field Clay United States Beals Wright Not held United States Beals Wright
United States Edgar Leonard
Not held
1908 United Kingdom London Queen's Club (indoor) Wood United Kingdom Arthur Gore United Kingdom Gwendoline Eastlake-Smith United Kingdom Herbert Roper Barrett
United Kingdom Arthur Gore
All England Club (outdoor) Grass United Kingdom Major Ritchie United Kingdom Dorothea Lambert Chambers United Kingdom Reginald Doherty
United Kingdom George Hillyard
1912 Sweden Stockholm Östermalm Tennis Pavilion (indoor) Wood France André Gobert United Kingdom Edith Hannam France Maurice Germot
France André Gobert
United Kingdom Edith Hannam
United Kingdom Charles Dixon
Östermalm Tennis Pavilion (outdoor) Clay South Africa Charles Winslow France Marguerite Broquedis South Africa Harold Kitson
South Africa Charles Winslow
German Empire Dorothea Köring
German Empire Heinrich Schomburgk
1920 Belgium Antwerp Beerschot Tennis Club Grass South Africa Louis Raymond France Suzanne Lenglen United Kingdom Noel Turnbull
United Kingdom Max Woosnam
United Kingdom Kathleen McKane
United Kingdom Winifred McNair
France Suzanne Lenglen
France Max Decugis
1924 France Paris Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir Clay United States Vincent Richards United States Helen Wills United States Francis Hunter
United States Vincent Richards
United States Hazel Wightman
United States Helen Wills
United States Hazel Wightman
United States R. Norris Williams
Open era (1988–)
1988 South Korea Seoul Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center Hard Czechoslovakia Miloslav Mečíř West Germany Steffi Graf United States Ken Flach
United States Robert Seguso
United States Pam Shriver
United States Zina Garrison
Not held
1992 Spain Barcelona Tennis de la Vall d'Hebron Clay Switzerland Marc Rosset United States Jennifer Capriati Germany Boris Becker
Germany Michael Stich
United States Gigi Fernández
United States Mary Joe Fernández
1996 United States Atlanta Stone Mountain Tennis Center Hard United States Andre Agassi United States Lindsay Davenport Australia Todd Woodbridge
Australia Mark Woodforde
United States Gigi Fernández
United States Mary Joe Fernández
2000 Australia Sydney Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre Hard Russia Yevgeny Kafelnikov United States Venus Williams Canada Sébastien Lareau
Canada Daniel Nestor
United States Serena Williams
United States Venus Williams
2004 Greece Athens Athens Olympic Tennis Centre Hard Chile Nicolás Massú Belgium Justine Henin-Hardenne Chile Fernando González
Chile Nicolás Massú
China Li Ting
China Sun Tiantian
2008 China Beijing National Tennis Center Hard Spain Rafael Nadal Russia Elena Dementieva Switzerland Roger Federer
Switzerland Stanislas Wawrinka
United States Serena Williams
United States Venus Williams
2012 United Kingdom London All England Club Grass United Kingdom Andy Murray United States Serena Williams United States Bob Bryan
United States Mike Bryan
United States Serena Williams
United States Venus Williams
Belarus Victoria Azarenka
Belarus Max Mirnyi
2016 Brazil Rio de Janeiro Olympic Tennis Centre Hard United Kingdom Andy Murray Puerto Rico Monica Puig Spain Marc López
Spain Rafael Nadal
Russia Ekaterina Makarova
Russia Elena Vesnina
United States Bethanie Mattek-Sands
United States Jack Sock
2020 Japan Tokyo Ariake Tennis Park Hard Germany Alexander Zverev Switzerland Belinda Bencic Croatia Nikola Mektić
Croatia Mate Pavić
Czech Republic Barbora Krejčíková
Czech Republic Kateřina Siniaková
 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (ROC)
 Andrey Rublev (ROC)
2024 France Paris Stade Roland Garros Clay
2028 United States Los Angeles Dignity Health Sports Park Hard
2032 Australia Brisbane Queensland Tennis Centre Hard

Participating nations

Nation9600040812202428–646872–8084889296000408121620Years
 Algeria 112
 Argentina 5 156889676711
 Armenia 1113
 Australasia 1 1
 Australia 1212 367710786101014
 Austria 33 235131332212
 Bahamas 222225
 Barbados 11
 Belarus 24253237
 Belgium 168 1333253410
 Benin 11
 Bermuda 11
 Bohemia 148 3
 Bolivia 112
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 122
 Brazil 1 134343447711
 Bulgaria 23211227
 Canada 3 275642354411
 Chile 2 12222218
 China 125434845510
 Chinese Taipei 132133558
 Colombia 224345
 Costa Rica 11
 Ivory Coast 122
 Croatia 245512468
 Cyprus 112
 Czech Republic 478118767
 Czechoslovakia 75 554
 Denmark 1035 2 1322111112
 Dominican Republic 112
 Ecuador 4 313
 Egypt 2 1
 El Salvador 11
 Estonia 2213
 Finland 4 11115
 France 114161010 2 4574798791017
 Georgia 2113
 Germany 1157 6354278912
 Great Britain 262211810 356561287616
 Greece 713 2342142211
 Haiti 11114
 Hong Kong 11
 Hungary 1365 2155422212
 India 6 132242474311
 Indonesia 1352226
 Ireland 4 2224
 Israel 14134317
 Italy 48 3 458866877613
 Japan 24 2 2457543361113
 Kazakhstan 3273
 Latvia 21124
 Liechtenstein 112
 Lithuania 11
 Luxembourg 1 112116
 Madagascar 2213
 Mexico 2 6 15432229
 Moldova 11
 Montenegro 11
 Morocco 121125
 Netherlands 215 1155323411
 New Zealand 3111226
 Nigeria 1313
 Norway 734 2116
 Paraguay 2211116
 Peru 32114
 Philippines 11
 Poland 132267768
 Portugal 1 222226
 Puerto Rico 3 1 2 1 1 5
 ROC 8 1
 Romania 3 543225639
 Russia 2 45991087
 Serbia and Montenegro 11
 Serbia 46654
 Slovakia 55744337
 Slovenia 434415
 South Africa 3354 66528
 Soviet Union 4 72
 South Korea 154542118
 Spain 48 3 24677119129813
 Sweden 41684 1 236454531115
 Switzerland 34 224334522212
 Thailand 2232126
 Togo 11
 Tunisia 112215
 Turkey 11
 Ukraine 2242646
 Unified Team 51
 United States 53519 6 777710101012111115
 Uruguay 1113
 Uzbekistan 211115
 Venezuela 34114
 West Germany 4 353
 Yugoslavia 1 233
 Zimbabwe 13223317
Nations64210141427 15 34384855525248445645
Players132636508275124 45 64129177176182170169184199191
Nation960004081220246884889296000408121620Years

Medal tables

All years

Sources:[9]

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 United States (USA)2161239
2 Great Britain (GBR)17141243
3 France (FRA)56819
4 Germany (GER)36211
5 Russia (RUS)3328
6 Switzerland (SUI)3306
7 South Africa (RSA)3216
8 Spain (ESP)27413
9 Chile (CHI)2114
10 Czech Republic (CZE)1348
11 Mixed team (ZZX)1236
12 ROC1203
13 Australia (AUS)1146
14 Croatia (CRO)1135
15 Czechoslovakia (TCH)1124
16 Belarus (BLR)1012
 Belgium (BEL)1012
 China (CHN)1012
 West Germany (FRG)1012
20 Canada (CAN)1001
 Puerto Rico (PUR)1001
22 Sweden (SWE)0358
23 Argentina (ARG)0235
24 Greece (GRE)0213
 Japan (JPN)0213
26 Netherlands (NED)0112
27 Austria (AUT)0101
 Denmark (DEN)0101
 Romania (ROM)0101
30 Unified Team (EUN)0022
31 Australasia (ANZ)0011
 Bohemia (BOH)0011
 Brazil (BRA)0011
 Bulgaria (BUL)0011
 Hungary (HUN)0011
 India (IND)0011
 Italy (ITA)0011
 New Zealand (NZL)0011
 Norway (NOR)0011
 Serbia (SRB)0011
 Ukraine (UKR)0011
Totals (41 entries)717186228

Open Era

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 United States (USA)143724
2 Germany (GER)3429
3 Russia (RUS)3328
4 Switzerland (SUI)3306
5 Spain (ESP)27413
6 Great Britain (GBR)2204
7 Chile (CHI)2114
8 Czech Republic (CZE)1348
9 ROC (ROC)1203
10 Australia (AUS)1146
11 Croatia (CRO)1135
12 Czechoslovakia (TCH)1113
13 Belarus (BLR)1012
 Belgium (BEL)1012
 China (CHN)1012
16 Canada (CAN)1001
 Puerto Rico (PUR)1001
18 Argentina (ARG)0235
19 France (FRA)0224
20 Sweden (SWE)0123
21 Netherlands (NED)0101
 Romania (ROM)0101
 South Africa (RSA)0101
24 Unified Team (EUN)0022
25 Brazil (BRA)0011
 Bulgaria (BUL)0011
 India (IND)0011
 Japan (JPN)0011
 New Zealand (NZL)0011
 Serbia (SRB)0011
 Ukraine (UKR)0011
Totals (31 entries)393947125

Amateur Era

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Great Britain (GBR)15121239
2 United States (USA)73515
3 France (FRA)54615
4 South Africa (RSA)3115
5 Mixed team (ZZX)1236
6 Germany (GER)1214
7 Sweden (SWE)0235
8 Greece (GRE)0213
9 Japan (JPN)0202
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 (1896–2020)

RankNameGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1United States Venus Williams4105
2United States Serena Williams4004
3United Kingdom Reginald Doherty3014
4United States Vincent Richards2103
United Kingdom Andy Murray2103
6United Kingdom Laurence Doherty2013
United States Mary Joe Fernández2013
France Suzanne Lenglen2013
South Africa Charles Winslow2013
10Spain Rafael Nadal2002
United Kingdom John Pius Boland2002
United Kingdom Charlotte Cooper2002
United States Gigi Fernández2002
France André Gobert2002
United Kingdom Arthur Gore2002
United Kingdom Edith Hannam2002
Chile Nicolás Massú2002
United States Hazel Wightman2002
United States Helen Wills Moody2002
United States Beals Wright2002
21United Kingdom Kathleen McKane Godfree1225
22United Kingdom Charles Dixon1124
23France Max Décugis1113
Chile Fernando González1113
Germany Steffi Graf1113
United Kingdom Major Ritchie1113
27United Kingdom Herbert Barrett1102
Switzerland Belinda Bencic1102
Russia Elena Dementieva1102
Switzerland Roger Federer1102
South Africa Harold Kitson1102
Germany Dorothea Köring1102
Russia / Russia Elena Vesnina1102
Australia Todd Woodbridge1102
Australia Mark Woodforde1102
United Kingdom Max Woosnam1102
37United States Mike Bryan1023
38Belarus Victoria Azarenka1012
France Marguerite Broquedis1012
United States Bob Bryan1012
United States Zina Garrison1012
United States Edgar Leonard1012
Czechoslovakia Miloš Mečíř1012
United States Jack Sock1012
45Spain Arantxa Sánchez Vicario0224
Sweden Gunnar Setterwall0224
47United Kingdom Harold Mahony0213
Spain Conchita Martínez0213
Czech Republic Jana Novotná0213
50United Kingdom George Caridia0202
France Henri Cochet0202
United Kingdom Dorothy Holman0202
Greece Dionysios Kasdaglis0202
Japan Ichiya Kumagae0202
United States Robert LeRoy0202
France Yvonne Prévost0202
Spain Virginia Ruano Pascual0202
Czech Republic Helena Suková0202
59United States Alphonzo Bell0112
Sweden Sigrid Fick0112
Argentina Juan Martín del Potro0112
Czech Republic Lucie Hradecká0112
63France Albert Canet0022
Sweden Stefan Edberg0022
Croatia Goran Ivanišević0022
United States Marion Jones0022
United Kingdom Arthur Norris0022
Bohemia Hedwiga Rosenbaumová0022

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.
  8. "Dylan Alcott achieves history-making 'golden slam' with US Open final victory". The Guardian. 13 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  9. "Olympic Analytics - Medals by Countries". olympanalyt.com. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
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