Tennis at the Olympic Games: A Comprehensive Guide
History of Tennis in the Olympics
Tennis made its Olympic debut at the inaugural Games in 1896 in Athens, Greece. It was then discontinued from the program in 1924 and reintroduced in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea.
Overview of Olympic Tennis
Olympic tennis consists of four events: men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, and women's doubles. Matches are played on a hard court surface.
Notable Players and Moments in Olympic Tennis
Stefanie Graf (Germany):
- Won the Golden Slam (all four Grand Slams and Olympic gold) in 1988.
Serena Williams (USA):
- Won four Olympic gold medals in singles and doubles.
- Defended her singles title in London 2012 while pregnant.
Roger Federer (Switzerland):
- Won the singles gold medal in 2008 and doubles silver in 2012.
- Is one of only two male players to win an Olympic medal in both singles and doubles.
Qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics
Qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics was based on the ATP and WTA rankings. The top 56 players in singles and the top 24 pairs in doubles qualified for the Games.
Schedule and Results of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics
Dates:
- July 24 - August 1, 2021
Results:
- Men's Singles: Alexander Zverev (Germany)
- Women's Singles: Belinda Bencic (Switzerland)
- Men's Doubles: Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic (Croatia)
- Women's Doubles: Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic)
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