Tennis was first contested as a Summer Olympic sport in the 1896 Olympic Games until 1924 (excluding 1916 due to World War I), before going on hiatus 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 was reinstated as a full medal sport in 1988.[4]
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Kathleen McKane Godfree (one gold, two silvers, and two bronzes) and Venus Williams (four gold, one silver) are tied as the record holders for the most Olympic medals in tennis. Serena Williams and Venus Williams won a record four gold medals. Reginald Doherty is the record holder for most medals in men's tennis (three gold and one bronze). Andy Murray is the only men's player to have won two singles gold medals.
Only on three occasions has a player defended their gold medal: Gigi Fernández and Mary Joe Fernández in women's doubles in 1992 and 1996, Serena Williams and Venus Williams in women's doubles in 2008 and 2012, and Andy Murray in the men's singles in 2012 and 2016.
Olympic medalists
editAmateur Era
edit1896
edit| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's singles | John Boland Great Britain
|
Dionysios Kasdaglis Greece
|
Konstantinos Paspatis Greece
|
Momčilo Tapavica Hungary
| |||
| Men's doubles |  Mixed team (ZZX) John Boland (GBR) Friedrich Traun (GER)
|
 Greece (GRE)Demetrios Petrokokkinos Dionysios Kasdaglis |
Mixed team (ZZX) Edwin Flack (AUS) George Robertson (GBR)
|
1900
edit| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's singles | Laurence Doherty (GBR)
|
Harold Mahony (GBR)
|
Reginald Doherty (GBR)
|
| Arthur Norris (GBR)
| |||
| Men's doubles | Great Britain (GBR) Laurence Doherty Reginald Doherty |
Mixed team (ZZX) Max Decugis (FRA)  Basil Spalding de Garmendia (USA)
|
France (FRA) Guy de la Chapelle André Prévost |
| Great Britain (GBR) Harold Mahony Arthur Norris | |||
| Women's singles | Charlotte Cooper (GBR)
|
Hélène Prévost (FRA)
|
Marion Jones Farquhar (USA)
|
 Hedwiga Rosenbaumová (BOH)
| |||
| Mixed doubles | Great Britain (GBR) Charlotte Cooper Reginald Doherty |
Mixed team (ZZX) Hélène Prévost (FRA) Harold Mahony (GBR)
|
Mixed team (ZZX) Marion Jones Farquhar (USA) Laurence Doherty (GBR)
|
| Mixed team (ZZX) Hedwiga Rosenbaumová (BOH) Archibald Warden (GBR)
|
1904
edit| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's singles | Beals Wright (USA)
|
Robert LeRoy (USA)
|
Alphonzo Bell (USA) Edgar Leonard (USA)
|
| Men's doubles | United States (USA) Beals Wright Edgar Leonard |
United States (USA) Robert LeRoy Alphonzo Bell |
United States (USA) Clarence Gamble Arthur Wear United States (USA)Joseph Wear Allen West |
1908
editOutdoor
edit
Indoor
edit1912
editOutdoor
edit
Indoor
edit
1920
edit
1924
edit
Open Era
edit1988
edit
1992
edit
1996
edit2000
edit2004
edit
2008
edit
2012
edit
2016
edit
2020
edit
2024
edit
Athlete medal leaders
editPlayers currently active in bold.
Men leaders
edit| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reginald Doherty | Great Britain
|
1900–1908 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Vincent Richards |  United States
|
1924 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Andy Murray | Great Britain
|
2008–2024 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 4 | Laurence Doherty | Great Britain
|
1900 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Charles Winslow |  South Africa
|
1912–1920 | 2 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 6 | Nicolás Massú |  Chile
|
2000–2008 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Rafael Nadal |  Spain
|
2004–2024 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 8 | Charles Dixon | Great Britain
|
1908–1912 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 9 | Max Décugis | France
|
1900–1920 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Fernando González | Chile
|
2004–2008 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Men's singles leaders
edit† Multiple singles medalist.
| # | Bronze medals |
|---|---|
| 1 |  Momčilo Tapavica Konstantinos Paspatis
|
 Reginald Doherty Arthur Norris
| |
 Alphonzo Bell Edgar Leonard
| |
| Wilberforce Eaves
| |
 Oscar Kreuzer
| |
 Charles Winslow
| |
 Umberto De Morpurgo
| |
 Stefan Edberg Brad Gilbert
| |
 Andrei Cherkasov Goran Ivanišević
| |
 Leander Paes
| |
 Arnaud Di Pasquale
| |
 Fernando González†
| |
 Novak Djokovic†
| |
 Juan Martin Del Potro†
| |
 Kei Nishikori
| |
 Pablo Carreño Busta
| |
| Lorenzo Musetti
|
Women leaders
edit| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Venus Williams | United States
|
2000–2016 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 2 | Serena Williams | United States
|
2000–2016 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | Kateřina Siniaková |  Czech Republic
|
2020–2024 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Kathleen McKane Godfree | Great Britain
|
1920–1924 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 5 | Belinda Bencic |  Switzerland
|
2020 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | Spain
|
1992–1996 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 7 | Conchita Martínez | Spain
|
1992–2004 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Women's singles leaders
edit† Multiple singles medalist.
| # | Silver medals |
|---|---|
| 1 | Hélène Prévost
|
| Dora Boothby
| |
 Dorothea Köring
| |
| Dorothy Holman
| |
| Julie Vlasto
| |
| Gabriela Sabatini
| |
| Steffi Graf
| |
| Arantxa Sánchez Vicario†
| |
 Elena Dementieva
| |
| Amélie Mauresmo
| |
| Dinara Safina
| |
| Maria Sharapova
| |
| Angelique Kerber
| |
 Markéta Vondroušová
| |
| Donna Vekić
|
| # | Bronze medals |
|---|---|
| 2 | Kitty McKane†
|
| 1 | Marion Jones Hedwiga Rosenbaumová
|
| Ruth Winch
| |
 Molla Bjurstedt
| |
Zina Garrison Manuela Maleeva
| |
| Mary Joe Fernández Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
| |
| Jana Novotná
| |
| Monica Seles
| |
 Alicia Molik
| |
| Vera Zvonareva
| |
 Victoria Azarenka
| |
| Petra Kvitová
| |
 Elina Svitolina
| |
 Iga Świątek
|
Medal table
edit| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States (USA) | 21 | 6 | 12 | 39 |
| 2 | Great Britain (GBR) | 17 | 14 | 12 | 43 |
| 3 | France (FRA) | 5 | 6 | 8 | 19 |
| 4 |  Germany (GER) | 3 | 6 | 2 | 11 |
| 5 |  Russia (RUS) | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| 6 | Switzerland (SUI) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 7 |  South Africa (RSA) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 8 | Spain (ESP) | 2 | 7 | 4 | 13 |
| 9 | Czech Republic (CZE) | 2 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| 10 | Chile (CHI) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
 China (CHN) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 12 | Mixed team (ZZX) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 13 |  ROC (ROC) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 14 |  Australia (AUS) | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 15 |  Croatia (CRO) | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 16 | Czechoslovakia (TCH) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 17 |  Belarus (BLR) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 Belgium (BEL) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
 Canada (CAN) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
 Serbia (SRB) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| West Germany (FRG) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 22 |  Puerto Rico (PUR) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 23 |  Sweden (SWE) | 0 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| 24 |  Argentina (ARG) | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 25 |  Greece (GRE) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
 Japan (JPN) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| 27 |  Netherlands (NED) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 28 |  Austria (AUT) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Denmark (DEN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Romania (ROM) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 31 | Unified Team (EUN) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 32 |  Australasia (ANZ) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Bohemia (BOH) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Brazil (BRA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Bulgaria (BUL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Hungary (HUN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 India (IND) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Italy (ITA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Norway (NOR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Poland (POL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Ukraine (UKR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (41 entries) | 74 | 72 | 88 | 234 | |
See also
edit- Tennis at the 1906 Intercalated Games — these Intercalated Games are no longer regarded as official Games by the International Olympic Committee
- Wheelchair tennis at the Summer Paralympics#Medalists
Notes
edit^a The Olympic medal table is ranked first by the number of gold medals won and then by silver and bronze medals if there is a tie.
References
edit- ^ Soltis, Greg (July 27, 2012). "Olympic Events Through History". LiveScience. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
- ^ Williams, Wythe (July 27, 1928). "SOCCER AND TENNIS BARRED IN OLYMPICS". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
- ^ "Olympic Tennis Event – History: Overview". International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
- ^ "2 More Olympic Games". The New York Times. October 2, 1981. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
- "Results database". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
- "Tennis: Men's singles". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
- "Tennis: Men's doubles". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
- "Tennis: Women's singles". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
- "Tennis: Women's doubles". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
External links
edit- Olympic Tennis at Sports-Reference.com.
- Olympic Tennis at Olympedia.