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Tennis at the Summer Olympics

Adapted from Wikipedia · Adventurer experience

Two Brazilian athletes, Laura Pigossi and Luisa Stefani, proudly receive their bronze medals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games women's doubles tennis awards ceremony.

Tennis has been a part of the Summer Olympic Games since the first Olympics in 1896. It was played at many Olympics but stopped after the 1924 Games because of rules about amateur players. Tennis came back as a special demonstration sport in 1968 and again in 1984, but only for younger players under 21. Then, in 1988, tennis returned as a full Olympic sport for everyone, and it has been part of every Summer Olympics since then. Today, players from all over the world compete for gold, silver, and bronze medals in tennis at the Games. For a list of Olympic tennis medalists, see List of Olympic medalists in tennis.

Medals

In the early Olympics, like 1896, players who lost in the semifinals shared bronze medals. In most years, there was a special match to decide who would get the bronze medal. Today, winning an Olympic gold medal in tennis is very important.

Laura Pigossi and Luisa Stefani from Brazil, winners of the women’s doubles bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games

Gold medal records

Both Serena Williams and Venus Williams have won four gold medals each, and they often played together in doubles. They are the only players to win the same Olympic event three times. Venus Williams has four gold medals and one silver, while Kathleen McKane Godfree has one gold and two silvers and two bronzes, making five medals each—the most for Olympic tennis. Andy Murray is the only player to win two gold medals in singles, keeping the title from one Olympics to the next. Nicolás Massú, along with Venus and Serena Williams, are the only players to win both the singles and doubles events at the same Olympics, doing this in different years.

Ukraine Elina Svitolina with her bronze Olympic medal

Golden Slams

When a player wins an Olympic or Paralympic gold medal and all four major tennis tournaments in the same year, it is called a Golden Slam. A "career Golden Slam" means winning all four major titles and an Olympic gold at any points in a career. As of 2026, Steffi Graf is the only player to achieve a single-year Golden Slam in 1988. In doubles, Gigi Fernandez, Serena Williams, and Venus Williams have each completed a career Golden Slam twice. In men’s tennis, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic have achieved a career Golden Slam. In 2021, wheelchair tennis players Diede de Groot and Dylan Alcott won Paralympic gold.

Tiebreaker games

Since 2021, if the match is tied in the final set, a 7-point tiebreaker is used. If the tiebreaker is tied at 6-all, the first player to get two points ahead wins the set and the match.

Summary

Tennis has been part of the Summer Olympic Games since the first Olympics in 1896. It was not played after 1924 because of disagreements about the rules for players. Tennis returned as a special event in 1968 and 1984. It became a full Olympic sport again in 1988 and has been played at every Summer Games since then.

Surface

The surface used for tennis courts at the Olympic Games has changed over time. Since 1984, most Olympics have used hard courts, except for the 1992 Olympics, the 2012 Olympics, and the 2024 Olympics.

The 2012 Olympics used grass courts, and the 2024 Olympics used clay courts.

In the past, tennis was also played on grass courts in the 1908 Olympics and 1920 Olympics. The 1908 Olympics and 1912 Olympics were the only times indoor tennis was part of the Olympics, and they used wooden surfaces. Early Olympics used clay courts, and clay was also used in several later Olympics.

Sometimes, the Olympics have been held at famous tennis venues. This happened at the All-England Tennis Club in Wimbledon in 1908 and 2012, and at Roland Garros in Paris in 2024.

Events

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

Event9600040812202428–646872–808488929600040812162024Editions
Men's singlesXXXXXXX(d, e)(d)XXXXXXXXXX17
Men's doublesXXXXXXX(d, e)XXXXXXXXXX17
Women's singlesXXXXX(d, e)(d)XXXXXXXXXX15
Women's doublesXX(d, e)XXXXXXXXXX13
Mixed doublesXXXX(d, e)Not yet reintroducedXXXX8
Men's singles (indoor)XXNot occurred since2
Men's doubles (indoor)XXNot occurred since2
Women's singles (indoor)XXNot occurred since2
Mixed doubles (indoor)XNot occurred since1
Total242685500444444555517
Surface9600040812202428–646872–808488929600040812162024Years
IndoorXX2
OutdoorXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX10
Carpet0
ClayXXXXXXXX8
GrassXXX3
HardXXXXXXXX8
WoodXX2

Champions and venues

For a detailed list of Olympic tennis venues, see List of Olympic venues in tennis.

‡ Players who won two events at the same Games.

Further information: § Double crown

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

Amateur Era (1896–1924)

Open Era (1988–present)

EventVenueSurfaceMen's singlesWomen's singlesMen's doublesWomen's doublesMixed doubles
1988
Seoul
Seoul Olympic Park Tennis CenterHardCzechoslovakia Miloslav MečířWest Germany Steffi GrafUnited States Ken Flach
United States Robert Seguso
United States Pam Shriver
United States Zina Garrison
Not held
1992
Barcelona
Tennis de la Vall d'HebronClaySwitzerland Marc RossetUnited States Jennifer CapriatiGermany Boris Becker
Germany Michael Stich
United States Gigi Fernández
United States Mary Joe Fernández
1996
Atlanta
Stone Mountain Tennis CenterHardUnited States Andre AgassiUnited States Lindsay DavenportAustralia Todd Woodbridge
Australia Mark Woodforde
United States Gigi Fernández (2)
United States Mary Joe Fernández (2)
2000
Sydney
Sydney Olympic Park Tennis CentreHardRussia Yevgeny KafelnikovUnited States Venus WilliamsCanada Sébastien Lareau
Canada Daniel Nestor
United States Serena Williams
United States Venus Williams
2004
Athens
Athens Olympic Tennis CentreHardChile Nicolás MassúBelgium Justine HeninChile Fernando González
Chile Nicolás Massú
China Li Ting
China Sun Tiantian
2008
Beijing
National Tennis CenterHardSpain Rafael NadalRussia Elena DementievaSwitzerland Roger Federer
Switzerland Stanislas Wawrinka
United States Serena Williams (2)
United States Venus Williams (2)
2012
London
All England ClubGrassUnited Kingdom Andy MurrayUnited States Serena WilliamsUnited States Bob Bryan
United States Mike Bryan
United States Serena Williams (3)
United States Venus Williams (3)
Belarus Victoria Azarenka
Belarus Max Mirnyi
2016
Rio de Janeiro
Olympic Tennis CentreHardUnited Kingdom Andy Murray (2)Puerto Rico Monica PuigSpain Marc López
Spain Rafael Nadal
Russia Ekaterina Makarova
Russia Elena Vesnina
United States Bethanie Mattek-Sands
United States Jack Sock
2020
Tokyo
Ariake Tennis ParkHardGermany Alexander ZverevSwitzerland Belinda BencicCroatia Nikola Mektić
Croatia Mate Pavić
Czech Republic Barbora Krejčíková
Czech Republic Kateřina Siniaková
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Andrey Rublev
2024
Paris
Stade Roland GarrosClaySerbia Novak DjokovicChina Zheng QinwenAustralia Matthew Ebden
Australia John Peers
Italy Sara Errani
Italy Jasmine Paolini
Czech Republic Kateřina Siniaková
Czech Republic Tomáš Macháč
2028
Los Angeles
Dignity Health Sports ParkHard
2032
Brisbane
Queensland Tennis CentreHard

Participating nations

Nation9600040812202428–646872–808488929600040812162024Editions
 Algeria112
 Argentina51568896767811
 Armenia1113
 Australasia11
 Australia12123677107861010914
 Austria332351313322112
 Bahamas222225
 Barbados11
 Belarus24253237
 Belgium16813332534310
 Benin11
 Bermuda11
 Bohemia1483
 Bolivia112
 Bosnia and Herzegovina122
 Brazil11343434477511
 Bulgaria232112217
 Canada32756423544511
 Chile2122222138
 China1254348455710
 Chinese Taipei1321335548
 Colombia2243415
 Costa Rica11
 Ivory Coast122
 Croatia2455124648
 Cyprus112
 Czech Republic4781187677
 Czechoslovakia75554
 Denmark1035213221111212
 Dominican Republic112
 Ecuador4313
 Egypt211
 El Salvador11
 Estonia2213
 Finland411115
 France114161010245747987910917
 Georgia2113
 Germany1157635427891012
 Great Britain2622118103565612876716
 Greece71323421422411
 Haiti11114
 Hong Kong11
 Hungary136521554222212
 India61322424743311
 Individual Neutral Athletes------77
 Indonesia1352226
 Ireland42224
 Israel14134317
 Italy4834588668776813
 Japan24224575433611613
 Kazakhstan32733
 Latvia211214
 Lebanon--22
 Liechtenstein112
 Lithuania11
 Luxembourg1112116
 Madagascar2213
 Mexico2615432229
 Moldova11
 Montenegro121
 Morocco121125
 Netherlands21511553234611
 New Zealand31112226
 Nigeria1313
 Norway73421116
 Paraguay2211116
 Peru32114
 Philippines11
 Poland1322677648
 Portugal12222226
 Puerto Rico312115
 ROC81
 Romania43543225639
 Russia245991087
 Serbia and Montenegro11
 Serbia466524
 Slovakia557443317
 Slovenia434415
 South Africa335466528
 Soviet Union472
 South Korea154542118
 Spain483246771191298813
 Sweden416841236454531115
 Switzerland34224334522212
 Thailand2232126
 Togo11
 Tunisia1122115
 Turkey11
 Ukraine22426456
 Unified Team51
 United States53519677771010101211111115
 Uruguay1113
 Uzbekistan211115
 Venezuela34114
 West Germany4353
 Yugoslavia1233
 Zimbabwe13223317
Nations total64210141427-15-34384855525248445645
Players total132636508275124-45-64129177176182170169184199191

Medal tables

All-time

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 United States2171341
2 Great Britain17141243
3 France56819
4 Germany36211
5 Russia3328
6 Switzerland3306
7 South Africa3216
8 Spain28515
9 Czech Republic2349
10 Australia2147
11 Chile2114
 China2114
13 Croatia1236
 Mixed team1236
15 ROC (ROC)1203
16 Czechoslovakia1124
17 Italy1023
18 Belarus1012
 Belgium1012
 Canada1012
 Serbia1012
 West Germany1012
23 Puerto Rico1001
24 Sweden0358
25 Argentina0235
26 Greece0213
 Japan0213
28 Netherlands0112
29 Austria0101
 Denmark0101
 Romania0101
 Individual Neutral Athletes0101
32 Unified Team0022
33 Australasia0011
 Bohemia0011
 Brazil0011
 Bulgaria0011
 Hungary0011
 India0011
 New Zealand0011
 Norway0011
 Poland0011
 Ukraine0011
Totals (42 entries)767691243

Open Era

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 United States144826
2 Russia3328
3 Switzerland3306
4 Spain28515
5 Germany2417
6 Czech Republic2349
7 Great Britain2204
8 Australia2147
9 Chile2114
 China2114
11 Croatia1236
12 ROC (ROC)1203
13 Czechoslovakia1113
14 Belarus1012
 Belgium1012
 Canada1012
 Italy1012
 Serbia1012
 West Germany1012
20 Puerto Rico1001
21 Argentina0235
22 France0224
23 Sweden0123
24 Netherlands0101
 Romania0101
 South Africa0101
 Individual Neutral Athletes0101
27 Unified Team0022
28 Brazil0011
 Bulgaria0011
 India0011
 Japan0011
 New Zealand0011
 Poland0011
 Ukraine0011
Totals (34 entries)444452140

Amateur Era

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Great Britain15121239
2 United States73515
3 France54615
4 South Africa3115
5 Mixed team1236
6 Germany1214
7 Sweden0235
8 Greece0213
9 Japan0202
10 Austria0101
 Denmark0101
12 Australasia0011
 Bohemia0011
 Czechoslovakia0011
 Hungary0011
 Italy0011
 Netherlands0011
 Norway0011
Totals (18 entries)323239103

Multiple medal winners

Double crown

Players who won two events at the same Olympic Games are listed below.

YearWomen's singles &
women's doubles
1924United States Helen Wills
2000United States Venus Williams
2012United States Serena Williams
YearMen's doubles &
mixed doubles
1900United Kingdom Reginald Doherty
YearWomen's singles &
mixed doubles
1900United Kingdom Charlotte Cooper
1912United Kingdom Edith Hannam
1920France Suzanne Lenglen

Point distribution

From the 2004 Summer Olympics until the 2012 Summer Olympics, tennis players could earn special points by playing in the Olympics. These points helped decide their ranking for the year. This system stopped being used starting with the 2016 Summer Olympics.

2004

Main article: Tennis at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Men's singles § Ranking points

Here’s how the points were given out for the ATP rankings:

2008

Main article: Tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics § Ranking points

Winning the Olympics gave a player 400 points. This was more than winning some big tournaments but less than winning the biggest ones like the Grand Slam events.

2012

Main article: Tennis at the 2012 Summer Olympics § Points distribution

The points from the Olympics could be added to a player’s ranking for that year.

StageGold medalSilver medalBronze medalFourth placeQuarterfinalsRound of 16Round of 32Round of 64
ATP Entry Ranking points40028020515510050255
ATP Champions Race points80564131201051
StageGold medalSilver medalBronze medalFourth placeQuarterfinalsRound of 16Round of 32Round of 64
Men's singles40028020515510050255
Women's singles3532451751359048281
StageGold medalSilver medalBronze medalFourth placeQuarterfinalsRound of 16Round of 32Round of 64
Men's singles75045034027013570355
Women's singles68547034026017595551

Images

Tennis champions Victoria Azarenka, Serena Williams, and Maria Sharapova proudly display their Olympic medals from the 2012 Summer Games.

Related articles

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Tennis at the Summer Olympics, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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