Tennis at the Summer Olympics

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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

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]

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

Year Events Best Nation
1896 2  Great Britain
1900 4  Great Britain
1904 2  United States
1908 6  Great Britain
1912 8  France
1920 5  Great Britain
1924 5  United States
1968 10  Mexico
1984 2  West Germany
1988 4  United States
1992 4  United States
1996 4  United States
2000 4  United States
2004 4  Chile
2008 4  Russia
2012 5  United States
2016 5  United States
2020 5  ROC

Surface[edit]

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[edit]

(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 (indoor) 2
Men's doubles (indoor) 2
Women's singles (indoor) 2
Mixed doubles (indoor) 1
Men's singles (d, e) (d) 16
Men's doubles (d, e) 16
Women's singles (d, e) (d) 14
Women's doubles (d, e) 11
Mixed doubles (d, e) 8
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 7
Grass 3
Hard 8
Wood 2

Champions and venues[edit]

List of gold medalists and venues where the Games took place listed below.

 Players who won two events at the same Games.

Participating nations[edit]

Medal tables[edit]

All years[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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)[edit]

Point distribution[edit]

From the 2004 until the 2012 Summer Olympics, the ATP and the WTA Tours awarded ranking points, for singles players only, who competed at the Summer Olympics. This was discontinued beginning with the 2016 Summer Olympics.[10][11]

2004[edit]

The breakdown of ranking points towards the ATP rankings is shown below:[12]

2008[edit]

Rankings points determine the position of a player in the ATP (men's) and WTA (women's) rankings, which are based on players' performances in the previous 52-weeks. For the Olympics, the men's player who won received 400 ranking points[13]—put in perspective, this was 100 more than a win at the most prestigious International Series Gold tournaments, 100 less than a Masters Series win, and 600 less than a triumph at one of the four Grand Slam tournaments.[14]

Men's ATP ranking points Women's WTA ranking points
Gold Medal 400 353
Silver Medal 280 245
Bronze Medal 205 175
Loser 3rd/4th 155 135
Quarterfinals 100 90
Round of 16 50 48
Round of 32 25 28
1st round 5 1

2012[edit]

The points distribution for the Association of Tennis Professionals and the Women's Tennis Association tours, concerning only singles competition on the 2012 Olympic Games, is listed below.[15][16] These points can be added to a player's world ranking for the 2012 season.

Stage Gold medal Silver medal Bronze medal Fourth place Quarterfinals Round of 16 Round of 32 Round of 64
Men's singles 750 450 340 270 135 70 35 5
Women's singles 685 470 340 260 175 95 55 1

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  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. Archived from the original on 5 June 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  10. ^ "ITF and ATP announce Olympic agreement". itftennis.com. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  11. ^ "Ranking Points". itftennis.com. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  12. ^ "Ranking Points". International Tennis Federation. Archived from the original on 23 August 2004. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  13. ^ "Ranking Points 2008 (Olympic Tennis Event)". ITF. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
  14. ^ "The ATP 2008 Official Rulebook (p. 153)" (PDF). ATP. Retrieved 2008-08-13. [dead link]
  15. ^ "ITF and ATP announce Olympic agreement". itftennis.com. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  16. ^ "Ranking Points". itftennis.com. Retrieved 17 July 2012.

External links[edit]