Three years after the pandemic-delayed Tokyo games, the Summer Olympics return to Paris for the first time in 100 years.
Of course, aside from a backdrop of the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and the Champs-Élysées, it means a tennis event held at Stade Roland Garros, which will officialy add a week-long summer tournament to the annual spring and (in 2020) unique fall version of the longtime grand slam event held there in recent years.
The history of the Olympic tennis event since the official return of the sport to the Games in 1988 has provided a slew of big moments and memories. Here are a ranked list of most of them, set up in a familar podium-style format...
*Graf's "Golden Slam"*
1988 Seoul Singles Gold - Steffi Graf (FRG) def. Gabriela Sabatini (ARG) 6-3/6-3
...the most-difficult-to-get cog in the wheel that was Steffi's "Golden Slam" --
winning all four slams and Olympic Gold in 1988. Graf was the more-than-appropriate winner of the Gold medal as tennis returned to the Games for the first time in sixty-four years. The German had an overall record of 72-3 in '88. Graf's Golden triumph wasn't just the most expected of all Olympic tennis results, but it was also the most historic. Her run in South Korea came in the midst of a 45-match winning streak (
tied for the longest of her career) and stretch in which she went 76-1 during a period spanning the 1988-89 seasons. In fact, from 1987-90, Graf strung together the four best statistical years of her career, putting up a stunning combined won-lost mark of 305-12.
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*Great Golden Scot!*
2012 London Singles Gold - Andy Murray (GBR) def. Roger Federer (SUI) 6-2/6-1/6-4
...Great Britain's long national sporting nightmare (
well, one of them, anyway) came to an end as the Scot became the first British man to claim Olympic singles Gold in 104 years, since Josiah Ritchie stood atop the medal stand at yet another Summer Games held in London in 1908. The result in the final was a complete reversal of Murray's fortunes on the very same Centre Court grass at the All-England Club one month earlier, when Federer defeated him in a four-set final to win career slam title #17 at Wimbledon. The loss prevented Federer, who'd had to go 4:26 to win his semifinal over Juan Martin del Potro, from finally claiming Olympic singles Gold, the only major singles title to elude him during his career (
though he didn't go undecorated, having won Gold in doubles). Murray's win provided the foundation for a more confident, aggressive game that allowed the Scot to conclude his summer by claiming his first career slam crown at the U.S. Open, ending Britain's 76-year drought (Fred Perry '36) of men's slam champs. In 2013, Murray won Wimbledon, as well, to become the first home-grown British men's winner at SW19 in seventy-seven years.
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*Serenativity Unbound*
2012 London Singles Gold - Serena Williams (USA) def. Maria Sharapova (RUS) 6-0/6-1
...as great as Williams was at various stages throughout her long career, she may have never been better than she was in the London Games. She never lost a set, was broken just once, defeated three players who'd been ranked #1 (
and another who'd been #2), including the reigning #1 (Victoria Azarenka) and #3-ranked (Sharapova) players in the world to complete a Career Golden Slam while becoming the first woman to sweep both the singles and doubles Golds since her sister Venus in 2000.
Serena was so good her spectacular serve wasn't even necessary. When she did see fit to use it at full power and effectiveness, sometimes it felt like an additional weapon she'd found reason to pull out of her back pocket to bludgeon her already beaten, bloodied and bedraggled opponent just a little bit more. You know, simply to remind them who they were dealing with. Truthfully, it was almost overkill.
But not really. For Serena-at-her-best was always about the absolute destruction of anything in her path. In the final, that poor soul was Sharapova. A couple of months earlier, the Russian had completed her Career Grand Slam in Paris, returned to #1 and was the toast of tennis once again. But a month after winning Wimbledon (
her first slam win in two years), Williams returned to the AELTC to hand Sharapova her worst defeat on the very same court on which Serena had lost to the Russian in the '04 SW19 final that launched the then 17-year old's superstar career.
The Olympic title run added Williams to the short list of players who have won each of the sport's six biggest singles crowns:
the four slams, Olympic Gold and their tour's year-end championships. The others are Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi.
That summer, after returning to action following what could have been a life-threatening pulmonary embolism, Williams found a
late-career mid-career fountain of youth that would see her go on to win three of the next five slams. From the start of the summer of '12 until the Rio Games of '16, Williams had jumped her career major total from thirteen to twenty-two, tying Steffi Graf for the most in the Open era. A year later, she surpassed the German with #23 by winning (
while secretly pregnant) the Australian Open, leaving her just one short of Margaret Court's all-time mark of 24
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*PicaPower to the People!*
2016 Rio Singles Gold - Monica Puig (PUR) def. Angelique Kerber (GER) 6-4/4-6/6-1.
...in the biggest Olympic tennis shocker ever, #34-ranked Puig is crowned the women's singles champion in Rio, becoming the first person representing Puerto Rico to ever claim Olympic Gold. In all, it was a performance for the tennis ages. Two Top 5 wins, victories over three players who had won a combined four slams (
and five by the end of '16), including two reigning major champions and what would be three of 2016's slam champs, was quite the feat for a player who came into the Games with just a single tour title (
won two years earlier) to her credit.
Puig rode her fiery, aggressive game to five straight wins that got progressively more astounding as the week went on, including victories over #4-ranked Roland Garros champ Garbine Muguruza --
her first career Top 5 win -- in the 3rd Round, and two-time slam winner Petra Kvitova in the semis to assure herself a medal. Puig then upset #2-ranked (
and eventual year-end #1) Australian Open (
and, soon, U.S. Open, too) champ Angelique Kerber in the final. After ending the German's spotless Rio set record in the 1st, Puig pulled away in the 3rd, taking a 5-0 lead en route to the victory.
On the final day of play, Puig earned the title of "Olympic Legend."
In Puerto Rico, for sure. For the rest of her life, and for generations thereafter.
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*La Petit Taureau's Greatest Victory?*
2004 Athens Singles Gold - Justine Henin-Hardenne (BEL) def. Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) 6-3/6-3
...smack dab in the middle of her bout with the cytomegalovirus that kept her out of action for the three months prior to Athens, Henin put together maybe the most remarkable performance of her career. She survived a 5-1 3rd set deficit against Anastasia Myskina in the SF, then took out Mauresmo for the Gold. It was only later, once the full knowledge of her illness was known, that we found out just how deep into her reserve that Queen Justine had had to dig to pull this one out. Following her Athens win, still fighting the virus, Henin only played one more tournament (
losing in the 4th Round of the U.S. Open) the rest of the '04 season.
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*Venus & Serena: Together Forever*
2000 Sydney Doubles Gold - Serena Williams/Venus Williams (USA) def. Kristie Boogert/Miriam Oremans (NED) 6-1/6-1
2008 Beijing Doubles Gold - Serena Williams/Venus Williams (USA) def. Anabel Medina-Garrigues/Virginia Ruano Pascual (ESP) 6-2/6-0
2012 London Doubles Gold - Serena Williams/Venus Williams (USA) def. Andrea Hlavackova/Lucie Hradecka (CZE) 6-4/6-4
...as was pretty much been the case throughout their careers, the toughest out in all of tennis is the Williams Sisters on the doubles court. They played together at four Olympics. Until their shocking 1st Round loss in Rio in '16, they'd gone 15-0 and won three Golds for their efforts. With both having also won singles Gold (
Venus in '00, Serena in '12) their four career Golds are the most won in Olympic tennis history.
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*The Russians Have Their Day*
2008 Beijing Singles Gold - Elena Dementieva (RUS) def. Dinara Safina (RUS) 3-6/7-5/6-3
2008 Beijing Singles Bronze - Vera Zvonareva (RUS) def. Li Na (CHN) 6-0/7-5
...after populating the WTA landscape with their deep pool of talent during the 2000s, the Russians went into China and took care of business, completing the first sweep of the medal stand in Olympic tennis in one hundred years. Showing the Hordettes' depth, the women who earned the honors weren't any of the three Russians who'd won grand slam singles titles, but instead were three of their countrywomen who'd all failed to do so in their careers (
going 0-7 in slam finals). Former #3 (
and two-time major finalist) Dementieva retired two years later, hailed as possibly the best player never to have won a major title. After winning in '08, the Russian held up her Gold-winning moment as not only the best of her career...
but also one that she'd cherish even more than she ever would an actual grand slam crown. Safina ranked as high as #1 and reached three slam finals, while Zvonareva reached #2 and played in two.
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*The Golden Summer of Venus*
2000 Sydney Singles Gold - Venus Williams (USA) def. Elena Dementieva (RUS) 6-2/6-4
...the conclusion of Williams' spectacular summer of 2000, during which she notched grand slam victories at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, came with her claiming of Olympic singles Gold Down Under. Also grabbing the Sydney doubles Gold with sister Serena, Venus became the first woman since Helen Wills in 1924 to sweep both medals at the same Olympics. Twelve years after Venus accomplished the feat, Serena matched it in London, taking her first singles Gold and third in doubles (w/ Venus, of course).
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*The Surprise Medalist*
2004 Athens Singles Gold - Nicolas Massu (CHI) def. Mardy Fish (USA) 6-3/3-6/2-6/6-3/6-4
...talk about a stunner! With his win, Massu became Chile's first-ever Olympic Gold medalist (
and then the first two-timer when he won in doubles with Fernando Gonzalez). He was the first man to sweep the singles and doubles Golds since Vincent Richards in 1924.
Calling the moment the "best memory in my sport career," Massu said of the continued elation he'd feel years later at the accomplishemnt, "Now I can die happy."
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*The Kid Before the Comeback*
1992 Barcelona Singles Gold - Jennifer Capriati (USA) def. Steffi Graf (GER) 3-6/6-3/6-4
...at 16, with all her long-talked about promise still seemingly in front of her, Capriati took down the defending Olympic champion to become the youngest-ever tennis Gold medalist. But, by the end of 1994, Capriati had been arrested for drug possession and would miss nearly two full years of WTA action. She'd finally return in '96, but wouldn't play a complete season until '99. In 2001, eight and a half years after winning Gold, her gradual comeback took flight as she won the first of what would be three slam titles and reached #1. Twenty years after her Olympic triumph, Capriati career arc was completed when she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
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*Keeping It In the Family... eventually*
1996 Atlanta Singles Gold - Andre Agassi (USA) def. Sergi Bruguera (ESP) 6-2/6-3/6-1
...Agassi and Steffi Graf are two of the three players (w/ S.Williams) to have ever won all four slams, plus Olympic singles Gold and a season-ending tour championship title. Before he won Gold on U.S. soil, Agassi had already won titles at three different slams, but he was still viewed as something of an "underachiever." After Atlanta, he'd win five more slams and go down as one of the game's most celebrated ambassadors. Agassi finally won his first Roland Garros title in 1999, completing his career "Six Pack" of the sport's biggest singles crowns, something that Graf had finished up eleven years earlier. Agassi and Graf were married in 2001 and had two children.
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*Home is Where the Heart Is*
1996 Atlanta Singles Gold - Lindsay Davenport (USA) def. Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (ESP) 7-6/6-2
...since the sport's Olympic return in '88, the only woman to win singles Gold in her home nation has been Davenport. The 20-year old was the second of three straight U.S.-born Olympic women's champions (
sandwiched between Capriati and Venus). She'd go on to win three slams from 1998-00 before essentially being overtaken at the top of the game by the crafty Martina Hingis, then the Williams sisters.
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*Twice is Nice*
2016 Rio Singles Gold - Andy Murray (GBR) def. Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) 7-5/4-6/6-2/7-5
...four years after winning Gold in London, Murray becomes the first player in Olympic history (
Steffi Graf's '84/'88 two-fer kicked off with the sport being just a demonstration event in L.A.) to successfully defend the singles Gold. The Scot avoided the likes of Federer (DNP), Nadal and Djokovic (
both defeated by Delpo) in the draw, but his win gave a Golden glow to what was a career year.
Having reached the Australian Open and Roland Garros finals earlier in the season, Murray won his second Wimbledon title, reached the #1 ranking for the first time in November (
and finished '16 there), won the ATP World Finals crown and was 75-9 (23-3 in majors) on the year.
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*The Twins Have It*
2012 London Doubles Gold - Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan (USA) def. Michael Llodra/Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) 6-4/7-6(2)
...the Bryan twins complete a Career Golden Slam by taking men's doubles Gold at the London Games. The only other doubles duos to accomplish the feat are three-time Gold winners Serena & Venus Williams and the Woodies, Todd Woodbridge & Mark Woodforde (below), who won Olympic Gold in Atlanta in 1996 four years before completing their major title set with a Roland Garros title in 2000.
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*The Golden Swiss*
2021 Tokyo Singles Gold - Belinda Bencic (SUI) def. Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) 7-5/2-6/6-3
2021 Tokyo Doubles Gold - Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE) def. Belinda Bencic/Viktorija Golubic (SUI) 7-5/6-1
...at the Tokyo Olympics, Belinda Bencic took out both of the recent Roland Garros finalists (
Barbora Krejcikova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova), and then rallied from six SP down in the 1st, a set and a break deficit in the 2nd, and 3-0 hole in the 3rd in her semifinal against Elena Rybakina.
In the Gold final against Marketa Vondrousova, Bencic recovered from an early break deficit and acted strategically when she took an MTO for a seemingly relatively minor ailment while up 4-3 in the 3rd (
with Vondrousova set to serve after the changeover break). Bencic had her big toe taped up for the (likely) final 15-20 minutes left of the match. The quick break of serve she grabbed against the suddenly (hmmm...) error-prone Czech (who quickly went down love/40, and dropped serve) provided Bencic with the edge she never relinquished.
But Bencic wasn't finished, as she'd already become the fourth modern player (
after Venus Williams '00, Serena Williams '12 and Nicolas Massu '04) to reach both the singles and doubles Gold finals at the same Olympics. Unfortunately for her, she didn't join those other three in completing a Gold medal sweep, falling alongside Viktorija Golubic to top-seeded Czechs Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova.
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*First of Her Kind*
2012 London Singles Bronze - Victoria Azarenka (BLR) def. Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 6-3/6-4
2012 London Mixed Doubles Gold - Victoria Azarenka/Max Mirnyi (BLR) def. Andy Murray/Laura Robson (GBR) 2-6/6-3 [10-8]
...just days after celebrating her 23rd birthday, the world #1 from Belarus reacted to her Bronze medal-winning feat in a joyous way that was very similar to how she'd likely have reacted to winning Gold. Azarenka won Belarus' very first Olympic tennis medal with a Bronze Match victory over Kirilenko, then a day later teamed with Mirnyi to claim the nation's first Gold, as well, by defeating the home favorite Brits to become the champions of the first Mixed Doubles competition held at the Olympics since 1924.
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*Roger "versus" Rafa?*
While Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal battled numerous times in their grand slam careers, they never met in the Olympics. In fact, their fates (in singles) at the Games could have hardly been more different. Federer, third behind Novak Djokovic and Nadal for the all-time men's slam title lead (
w/ 20), participated in four Olympics (
as the #1 seed three times) but never won Gold in singles. Defeats in '04 (
2nd Round to Tomas Berdych) and '08 (
QF - James Blake) were preceded by a Bronze Medal Match loss to Italy's Arnaud Di Pasquale in Federer's Olympic debut in '00.
In 2012, on his favored grass at the All-England Club after having just won slam title #17 at Wimbledon, the stage seemed set for one additional Golden coronation. But Federer was forced to play a 4:26 semifinal vs. Juan Martin del Potro. He won 3-6/7-6(5)/19-17 in the longest three-set men's match in the Open era, with the 3rd set alone lasting 2:43. In the final, he simply wasn't the same legendary champion. Whether the marathon win cost him his best chance at Gold will forever be a "what if?," but the fact remains that, one month after defeating Andy Murray in the Wimbledon final, Federer lost in straight sets to the Scot in the Olympic final at the AELTC. The resulting Silver was the first medal won by the Swiss in singles play, and the loss to Murray proved to be Federer's Olympic swan song as he was forced to withdraw from both the '16 Rio and '21 Tokyo Games with knee issues, the last coming a month before his 40th birthday. He retired at the end of the 2022 season.
2008 Beijing Singles Gold - Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) 6-3/7-6/6-3
2016 Rio Doubles Gold - Marc Lopez/Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. Florin Mergea/Horia Tecau (ROU) 6-2/3-6/6-4
...meanwhile, Nadal's Olympic experience includes the Spaniard winning singles Gold in Beijing in '08, then in doubles in Rio eight years later. One day after the '08 Games, Rafa became #1 in the rankings for the first time, ending Federer's record 237-week streak in the top spot, after having spent a record 160 consecutive weeks at #2.
Nadal had a chance for a Golden sweep in '16, but ultimately won no singles medal in Rio. After losing in a final set TB to Juan Martin del Potro in the semis, the Spaniard fell to Kei Nishikori in the Bronze Medal Match. He decided not to play the '21 Games in Tokyo, preferring to preserve his body for the slam title competitions to come.
After fighting through still more injuries/surgeries, Nadal is set to play what will be his final Olympics in Paris, with the tennis event held at Roland Garros, where the 38-year old has won 14 titles.
2008 Beijing Doubles Gold - Federer/Wawrinka (SUI) def. Aspelin/Johansson (SWE) 6-3/6-4/6-7/6-3
...Federer HAS won an Olympic Gold medal, though. In the same Beijing Games in which Nadal was crowned singles champion, he and Swiss teammate Stan Wawrinka claimed the top spot on the doubles medal stand.
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*Big Time Russians*
2016 Rio Doubles Gold - Ekaterina Makarova/Elena Vesnina (RUS) def. Timea Bacsinszky/Martina Hingis (SUI) 6-4/6-4
...Makarova & Vesnina become the first all-Russian pair to win Olympic doubles Gold, taking the title in Rio without dropping a set.
The duo would prove to be one of best big-event pairs of the era. Already with Roland Garros (2013) and U.S. Open (2014) titles in hand, the Hordettes would win the '16 WTA Finals and '17 Wimbledon, as well. With their Rio win, they were left just an Australian Open title from becoming the first women's duo to win all four majors, Olympic Gold and the year-end championships. Makarova/Vesnina lost in the '18 final in Melbourne (
as they had in '14). Both players reached WD #1 the following June, but Vesnina (
after becoming a mother) only returned to action during the '21 season, while Makarova retired in January 2020.
On a side note, Hall of Famer Hingis' appearance in Brazil, at age 35, was her first in Olympic competition in twenty years. After her "Dream Duo" MX pairing with Roger Federer fizzled because of Fed's knee surgery, and Stan Wawrinka ultimately skipped the Rio Games, Hingis didn't play MX at all. Her original WD partner, Belinda Bencic, went out with a wrist injury. Additionally, during the Olympics, Hingis had announced her 17-month, three-slam winning partnership with Sania Mirza was over. But Timea Bacsinszky's early singles loss in Rio allowed both women to be the Olympic "savior" for the other, as their Silver run provided them with their first career medals.
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*The Argentine Survivor*
2012 London Singles Bronze - Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) def. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 7-5/6-4
...after losing a marathon 19-17 3rd set in the semifinals vs. Roger Federer, at 4:26 the longest three-set men's match in the Open era (
the 3rd set alone lasted 2:43), del Potro would have been given a pass had he suffered a letdown and not had enough left to fight for a medal. But this was a player who'd shown great promise while winning the U.S. Open at age 20 in 2009, only to have to battle back against a career-altering wrist injury and a slew of ailments over the decade-plus that followed. In London, he looked as good as he'd looked in years, pounding those thundering groundstrokes that he used to take down both Federer and Nadal in Flushing Meadows. Rather than go home from London empty-handed, he took Bronze by taking down Djokovic, who led in winners, aces and 1st serve win percentage. But Djokovic was 0-for-6 on break point attempts, while del Potro converted a pair. And that was the difference in a straight sets victory that brought Delpo to his knees...
in a good way.
2016 Rio Singles 1st Round - Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) def. Novak Djokovic 7-6(4)/7-6(2)
2016 Rio SF - Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) def. Rafael Nadal (ESP) 5-7/6-4/7-6(5)
...four years later, with Federer not in the Olympic event, del Potro (
playing with a protected ranking due to his latest injury break due to wrist surgery) took out the #1 (Djokovic) and #3 (Nadal) seeds, only to fall short of Gold in the final vs. #2 Andy Murray. Still, the run gave the Argentine a Silver to go along with his previous Bronze.
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*History... and mystery?*
2021 Tokyo Singles SF - Alexander Zverev (GER) def. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 1-6/6-3/6-1
2021 Tokyo Singles Gold - Alexander Zverev (GER) def. Karen Khachanov (ROC) 6-3/6-1
...Zverev upsets Djokovic in the semifinals and goes on to win the men's singles Gold, becoming the first German Olympic singles champion since Steffi Graf in 1988. Neither Boris Becker nor Michael Stich ever won solo Gold (they combined for Doubles Gold in 1992), and Tommy Haas took Silver in 2000; while aside from Graf's 1988 Golden Slam triumph (and '84 demonstration sport win) the best results from German women have been Silvers in 1992 (Graf) and 2016 (Angelique Kerber).
For Djokovic, arguably the most successful men's tennis player ever, the result continued a pattern in which the Olympics have been the Serb's career albabross. A 21-year old Djokovic won singles Bronze in 2008, the same year of his first slam win, but has gone medal-less ever since.
In Tokyo, an extreme version of this ongoing storyline took place. Djokovic arrived for the games having won the first three majors of the season (w/ a Golden Slam firmly in play), and had won 22 straight matches before his SF defeat vs. Zverev. Later that day, he and Nina Stojanovic also lost in the MX semis (Djokovic was aced by an Elena Vesnina serve). He then lost in the Bronze match for singles (vs. Pablo Carreno Busta), cruishing two rackets in the process, then withdrew from the MX Bronze match with an injury to go without a medal for the third straight Olympics. Later that summer, his Grand Slam bid ended when he lost in the U.S. Open final.
While Djokovic's Olympic history has been checkered, his main career rivals -- Roger Federer (in doubles), Rafael Nadal (singles and doubles) and Andy Murray (twice in singles) -- have all won Gold in their careers.
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*When They Were Young*
1984 Los Angeles Women's Final - Steffi Graf (FRG) def. Sabrina Goles (YUG) 1-6/6-3/6-4
1984 Los Angeles Men's Final - Stefan Edberg (SWE) def. Francisco Maciel (MEX) 6-1/7-6
...four years before tennis became an official medal sport again, it was a demonstration, non-medal event in Los Angeles. As it turned out, the results in L.A. proved to be quite prophetic.
The winners? A 15-year old, #8-seeded Steffi Graf of West Germany, three years before her first slam victory (
she'd go on to win 22), and 18-year old Swede Stefan Edberg (#3), who'd win the first of his six career slams the next season in Australia. Four years later, Graf would win the first singles Gold in tennis' official return to the Games, then pick up a Silver in '92. Edberg won the Bronze in '88.
1984 wasn't the only time Graf and Edberg shared the spotlight. Both won Wimbledon titles four years later in 1988, then they were members of the same class of inductees at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2004, twenty years after their Olympic demonstration triumphs.
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*Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole*
2021 Tokyo Doubles Bronze - Laura Pigossi/Luisa Stefani (BRA) def. Veronika Kudermetova/Elena Vensina (ROC) 4-6/6-4 [11-9]
...Brazil's Pigossi & Stefani did heavy lifting in Tokyo while becoming the first from their nation to win tennis medals, knocking off #7-seeds Gaby Dabrowski/Sharon Fichman in the 1st Round, saving four MP and defeating Karolina Pliskova/Marketa Vondrousova in a 13-11 MTB, and Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Jessie Pegula in another (10-6). After losing in the semifinals to Belinda Bencic/Viktorija Golubic, Pigossi & Stefani saved four more MP against Kudermetova/Vesnina in the Bronze medal match and took an 11-9 MTB to claim a spot on the medal stand.
Then a Fed/BJK Cup-style celebration broke out.
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=HONORABLE MENTIONS=
In 2021 in Tokyo, slam winner and former #1 Naomi Osaka's on-court performance on home soil was disappointing, as she fell in the 3rd Round of singles (to eventual Silver medalist Marketa Vondrousova). But before that the reigning Australian and U.S. Open champ had *already* been a part of one of the most memorable moments of the games when she became the first tennis player to light the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremonies. Osaka called the honor her "greatest achievement."
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In 1992 in Barcelona, Marc Rosset becomes the answer to a trivia question, becoming the only Swiss man to win Olympic singles Gold. In the three decades since, Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka have combined to win 23 singles slam titles...
but Rosset still stands alone atop Switzerland's tennis medal stand (though he was joined by women's champ Belinda Bencic in '21).
Six years after his Olympic triumph, a 1st Round tennis defeat at the U.S. Open both nearly cost, and ultimately saved, Rosset's life. Scheduled to fly back to Geneva on Swissair, Rosset decided that he needed additional practice time would take advantage of the abundance of hitting partners at Flushing Meadows for one additional day. He missed Flight 111, which crashed near Nova Scotia, killing all 229 aboard.
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In 2016, sixteen years after she'd swept the singles and doubles Golds in Sydney, 37-year old Venus Williams was playing in Rio. Arguably the player who loves the Olympics more than any other, Williams played with a viral illness and was dumped out of the 1st Round of singles on Day 1. Then she and sister Serena lost their first Olympic doubles match ever on Day 2. After at first being noncommittal about playing mixed doubles, thinking she'd be busy in the other two draws, Venus teamed up with Rajeev Ram (
himself a late addition to the U.S. team) and very nearly wrote what could have been a storybook ending to the greatest-ever Olympic tennis career.
After saving two MP in the 1st Round vs. Bertens/Rojer, the U.S. duo went all the way to the Gold Medal Match, where they won the 1st set and held a 6-3 lead in the 3rd set TB vs. Mattek-Sands/Sock. A win would have given Venus a record fifth tennis Gold, and made her the only player to win Gold in singles, doubles and mixed. But it wasn't meant to be. Still, Venus remains tied with Serena with the most tennis Golds (4), and her Silver medal matches 1920's star Kitty McKane's record of five career Olympic tennis medals. She's won the most -- male or female -- tennis medals (5) since the sport's return to the Games in 1988.
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Yevgeny Kafelnikov defeats Tommy Haas in the 2000 men's singles final in Sydney, becoming the first Russian to win Olympic tennis Gold
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In the searing heat of the 2021 Olympic tennis event in Tokyo, Ash Barty exited the women's singles earlier than any other #1 seed, falling in the 1st Round to Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo. The Aussie rebounded in mixed doubles, picking up the Bronze medal with John Peers. Eight months later, soon after winning her third major title at the Australian Open, the 25-year old announced her retirement from the sport.
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The unexpected MX pair of Anastasia Pavlychenknova & Andrey Rublev win the 2021 Gold in Tokyo, saving a MP in a pair of 13-11 MTB in both the semifinals (
vs. Barty/Peers) and final (
vs. Vesnina/Karatsev). The win brought the Russian Olympic delegation (
under whatever name) within a men's doubles title of having won Gold in every tennis event (
after Dementieva '08 WS, Kafelnikov '00 MS, and '16 Makarova/Vesnina WD) since 1988.
Neither Pavlyuchenknova nor Rublev seemed to be able to comprehend their Cinderella run, but it's surely something they'll never forget.
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In Seoul (1988), Slovak-born Miloslav Mecir, playing for Czechoslovakia, wins the men's singles Gold. To date, no other player representing either side --
Czech Republic or Slovakia -- of the former Soviet era nation has won Olympic tennis Gold in singles.
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In the 2012 2nd Round in London, Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeats Canada's Milos Raonic in an Olympic record 25-23 3rd set. In the final set alone, Tsonga led 129-128 in total points. Although, for the match, the losing Raonic held a 180-178 edge.
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Since the re-introduction of tennis into the Olympics in 1988, the last three-plus decades have seen the Swiss tennis collective show a special knack for winning medals. Nearly every Swiss player of note -- save for Patty Schndyer -- has added at least one medal to their collection: Roger Federer (Gold/Silver), Martina Hingis (Silver), Stan Wawrinka (Gold), Belinda Bencic (Gold/Silver), Marc Rosset (Gold), Timea Bacsinszky (Silver) and Viktorija Golubic (Silver) have all stood on the medal stand.
Schnyder's best Olympic results were a singles 3rd Round in 2004, and doubles QF in 1996.
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Before the Williams Sisters, another U.S. women's duo -- Florida-born Mary Joe Fernandez & Puerto Rico-born Gigi Fernandez (no relation) -- teamed to win back-to-back Olympic doubles Golds in 1992 (Barcelona) and 1996 (Atlanta)
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After Jelena Dokic came up short in her medal quest Down Under in the Sydney games in '00, losing in the Bronze Medal Match to Monica Seles, Alicia Molik pulled off the feat by taking Bronze four years later in Athens, defeating three seeds (
#4 Elena Dementieva, #8 Ai Sugiyama & #3 Anastasia Myskina). Molik defeated Myskina, months after the Russian sparked her nation's 2000's tennis revolution by winning at Roland Garros, in the Bronze Medal Match. Myskina had blown a 5-1 3rd set lead to eventual Gold medal winner Justine Henin-Hardenne in the semifinals.
Molik is still the only Australian singles player, male or female, to win a medal in Olympic history.
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One never knows what you're going to get from Elina Svitolina, sometimes even in the same event. Will it be the gritty comeback artist with the ability to take down anyone on tour (
including a *whole* lotta world #1s), or the head-for-the-exit, big stage-averse underachiever who can turn a good week into a demerit with one no-show elimination performance? In Tokyo, the Ukrainian was *all* that, but in the medal stand format of the Olympics, where 3rd place can feel like 1st, Svitolina got a "second chance" and made the most of it.
Arriving in Japan after having just gotten married in France, changing her social media and everyday life surname (to Monfils) but not the one that has come to be her "brand" as a professional athlete on the tennis tour, Svitolina had to win three straight three-set matches --
def. Laura Siegemund, Ajla Tomljanovic and Maria Sakkari -- to avoid an early-exit follow-up to the Rio Games in which she knocked off Serena Williams.
Once #2 seed Naomi Osaka fell in the 3rd Round, #4 Svitolina was the highest seeded player to reach the QF. Somewhat surprisingly, the Ukrainian didn't immediately fold up shop once she was given such a view of the rest of the draw, and instead handled Camila Giorgi 4 & 4. She then declared the Olympics to be "equal" to a slam in her mind. Right on cue, Svitolina was then routed in the semis by Vondrousova in her next match.
Ah, but this wasn't a "regular" event, and a loss didn't end her week, as there was still a Bronze medal at stake. Against Elena Rybakina, Svitolina rallied from a set and a break down against the Kazakh, taking a TB to send things to a deciding set, then again staged a comeback from 3-0 down (
and two BP for 4-0) in the 3rd, winning 6-4 on her seventh MP to become Ukraine's first tennis medalist.
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Have you heard?
The talent pool of Czech tennis women is *very* deep
In 2016, that reality played out on the Rio medal stand, where four *different* Czechs won Bronze medals in the event's three eligible competitions. In singles, it was Petra Kvitova. In doubles, Lucie Safarova & Barbora Strycova, who'd upset two-time defending Gold medalists Venus & Serena Williams (
who been 15-0 in their Olympics career) in the 1st Round, while Lucie Hradecka teamed with Radek Stepanek in Mixed.
Later that year, the Czech Republic claimed a third straight Fed Cup title, and a fifth in six years.
After the four medals in 2016, three more Czechs won their first Olympic medals in 2021 in Tokyo, as Marketa Vondrousova took Silver in singles and Barbora Krejickova & Katerina Siniakova won doubles Gold.
Vondrousova, using her protected ranking from a wrist injury from nearly two years earlier, found her way into the Olympic field (at #42, and the fifth-highest standing Czech on tour at the start of the Olympics) by bumping #23-ranked countrywoman Karolina Muchova from the team roster. Once play began, sentimentality wasn't an issue for No Mercy Marketa, either.
The Czech ended the retiring Kiki Bertens' singles career with a three-set victory in the 1st Round, then two rounds later sent home star Naomi Osaka packing. In the QF, Vondrousova saw Paula Badosa succumb to the intense heat conditions and retire in the 2nd set (leaving in a wheelchair), then she sent newlywed Elina Svitolina out in short order in the semis, becoming the first Czech woman to reach the Olympic Gold medal singles final.
Vondrousova held a break lead in the 3rd set of the final vs. Belinda Bencic, but then it was Bencic's own lack of sentimentality, taking a MTO up 4-3 with Vondrousova next to serve, that helped provided the Swiss' final cushion for victory as, after a long wait, Vondrousova contributed a handful or errors, loser serve, and didn't win another game.
Krejcikova & Siniakova became the first Czech Olympic women's tennis Gold medalists, winning three match TB --
vs. Badosa/Sorribes Tormo (2r), Barty/Sanders (QF) and Kudermetova/Vesnina (SF) -- en route to the final, where they prevented Belinda Bencic from becoming a double Gold winner at the Games, defeating her and countrywoman Viktorija Golubic 7-5/6-1. Krejcikova & Siniakova ended the Czech women's bad luck of going 0-3 (
'88/'96 Novotna/Sukova, '12 Hlavackova/Hradecka) in Olympic doubles finals.
With an Olympic win in hand, after having previously won Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2018, Krejcikova/Siniakova claimed their first Australian and U.S. Open doubles titles in 2022 to become the first women's duo to complete a Career Golden Slam (
they also won the WTA Finals in '21, making them the only women's pair to win all six competitions).
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In the 2021 men's doubles final in Tokyo, Nikola Mektic/Mate Pavic won an all-Croatian battle vs. Marin Cilic/Ivan Dodig in the final as both duos earned the nation's first Olympic medals in tennis. It was the first time since 1908 that the Gold medal match featured teams representing the same nation.
In the same doubles event, New Zealand's Marcus Daniell & Michael Venus became that nation's first tennis medalsts, defeating the United States' Austin Krajicek & Tennys Sandgren for the Bronze.
The loss left the U.S. medal-less in both men's and women's tennis in Tokyo, marking the first time such a shutout has happened since the return of tennis to the Olympics in 1988.
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*WOMEN'S SINGLES MEDALISTS, since 1988*
[GOLD]
1988 Steffi Graf, West Germany
1992 Jennifer Capriati, USA
1996 Lindsay Davenport, USA
2000 Venus Williams, USA
2004 Justine Henin-Hardenne, Belgium
2008 Elena Dementieva, Russia
2012 Serena Williams, USA
2016 Monica Puig, Puerto Rico
2021 Belinda Bencic, Switzerland
[SILVER]
1988 Gabriela Sabatini, Argentina
1992 Steffi Graf, Germany
1996 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Spain
2000 Elena Dementieva, Russia
2004 Amelie Mauresmo, France
2008 Dinara Safina, Russia
2012 Maria Sharapova, Russia
2016 Angelique Kerber, Germany
2021 Marketa Vondrousova, Czech Republic
[BRONZE]
1988 Manuela Maleeva, Bulgaria & Zina Garrison, USA
1992 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Spain & Mary Joe Fernandez, USA
1996 Jana Novotna, Czech Republic
2000 Monica Seles, USA
2004 Alicia Molik, Australia
2008 Vera Zvonareva, Russia
2012 Victoria Azarenka, Belarus
2016 Petra Kvitova, Czech Republic
2021 Elina Svitolina, Ukraine
*MEN'S SINGLES MEDALISTS, since 1988*
[GOLD]
1988 Miloslav Mecir, Czechoslovakia
1992 Marc Rosset, Switzerland
1996 Andre Agassi, USA
2000 Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Russia
2004 Nicolas Massu, Chile
2008 Rafael Nadal, Spain
2012 Andy Murray, Great Britain
2016 Andy Murray, Great Britain
2021 Alexander Zverev, Germany
[SILVER]
1988 Tim Mayotte, USA
1992 Jordi Arrese, Spain
1996 Sergi Bruguera, Spain
2000 Tommy Haas, Germany
2004 Mardy Fish, USA
2008 Fernando Gonzalez, Chile
2012 Roger Federer, Switzerland
2016 Juan Martin del Potro, Argentina
2021 Karen Khachanov, Russian Olympic Committee
[BRONZE]
1988 Stefan Edberg, Sweden & Brad Gilbert, USA
1992 Goran Ivanisevic, Croatia & Andrei Cherkasov, Unified Team
1996 Leander Paes, India
2000 Arnaud di Pasquale, France
2004 Fernando Gonzalez, Chile
2008 Novak Djokovic, Serbia
2012 Juan Martin del Potro, Argentina
2016 Kei Nishikori, Japan
2021 Pablo Carreno Busta, Spain
*WOMEN'S DOUBLES MEDALISTS, since 1988*
[GOLD]
1988 Pam Shriver / Zina Garrison, USA
1992 Mary Joe Fernandez / Gigi Fernandez, USA
1996 Mary Joe Fernandez / Gigi Fernandez, USA
2000 Serena Williams / Venus Williams, USA
2004 Li Ting / Sun Tiantian, China
2008 Serena Williams / Venus Williams, USA
2012 Serena Williams / Venus Williams, USA
2016 Ekaterina Makarova / Elena Vesnina, Russia
2021 Barbora Krejcikova /Katerina Siniakova, Czech Republic
[SILVER]
1988 Jana Novotna / Helena Sukova, Czechoslovakia
1992 Conchita Martinez / Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Spain
1996 Jana Novotna / Helena Sukova, Czech Republic
2000 Kristie Boogert / Miriam Oremans, The Netherlands
2004 Conchita Martinez / Virginia Ruano-Pascual, Spain
2008 Anabel Medina-Garrigues / Virginia Ruano-Pascual, Spain
2012 Andrea Hlavackova / Lucie Hradecka, Czech Republic
2016 Timea Bacsinszky / Martina Hingis, Switzerland
2021 Belinda Bencic / Viktorija Golubic, Switzerland
[BRONZE]
1988 Steffi Graf / Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, West Germany
1988 Liz Smylie / Wendy Turnbull, Australia
1992 Natalia Zvereva / Leila Meskhi, Unified Team
1992 Rachel McQuillan / Nicole Provis, Australia
1996 Conchita Martinez / Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Spain
2000 Els Callens / Dominique van Roost, Belgium
2004 Paola Suarez / Patricia Tarabini, Argentina
2008 Yan Zi / Zheng Jie, China
2012 Maria Kirilenko / Nadia Petrova, Russia
2016 Lucie Safarova / Barbora Strycova, Czech Republic
2021 Laura Pigossi / Luisa Stefani, Brazil
*MEN'S DOUBLES MEDALISTS, since 1988*
[GOLD]
1988 Ken Flach / Robert Seguso, USA
1992 Boris Becker / Michael Stich, Germany
1996 Todd Woodbridge / Mark Woodforde, Australia
2000 Sebastien Lareau / Daniel Nestor, Canada
2004 Fernando Gonzalez / Nicolas Massu, Chile
2008 Roger Federer / Stan Wawrinka, Switzerland
2012 Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan, USA
2016 Marc Lopez / Rafael Nadal, Spain
2021 Nikola Mektic / Mate Pavic, Croatia
[SILVER]
1988 Emilio Sanchez / Sergio Casal, Spain
1992 Wayne Ferreira / Piet Noval, South Africa
1996 Neil Broad / Tim Henman, Great Britain
2000 Todd Woodbridge / Mark Woodforde, Australia
2004 Rainer Schuettler / Nicolas Kiefer, Germany
2008 Simon Aspelin / Thomas Johansson, Sweden
2012 Michael Llodra / Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, France
2016 Florin Mergea / Horia Tecau, Romania
2021 Marin Cilic / Ivan Dodig, Croatia
[BRONZE]
1988 Stefan Edberg / Anders Jarryd, Sweden
1988 Miloslav Mecir / Milan Srejber, Czechoslovakia
1992 Goran Ivanisevic / Goran Prpic, Croatia
1992 Javier Frana / Christian Carlos Miniussi, Argentina
1996 Marc-Kevin Goellner / David Prinosil, Germany
2000 Alex Corretja / Albert Costa, Spain
2004 Mario Ancic / Ivan Ljubicic, Croatia
2008 Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan, USA
2012 Julien Benneteau / Richard Gasquet, France
2016 Steve Johnson / Jack Sock, USA
2021 Marcus Daniell / Michael Venus, New Zealand
*MIXED DOUBLES MEDALISTS, since 2012*
[GOLD]
2012 Victoria Azarenka / Max Mirnyi, Belarus
2016 Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Jack Sock, USA
2021 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova / Andrey Rublev, Russian Olympic Committee
[SILVER]
2012 Laura Robson / Andy Murray, Great Britain
2016 Venus Williams / Rajeev Ram, USA
2021 Elena Vesnina / Aslan Karatsev, Russian Olympic Committee
[BRONZE]
2012 Lisa Raymond / Mike Bryan, USA
2016 Lucie Hradecka / Radek Stepanek, Czech Republic
2021 Ash Barty / John Peers, Australia
*GOLD MEDAL MATCHES - women's singles*
1988 Steffi Graf/FRG d. Gabriela Sabatini/ARG
1992 Jennifer Capriati/USA d. Steffi Graf/GER
1996 Lindsay Davenport/USA d. Arantxa Sanchez Vicario/ESP
2000 Venus Williams/USA d. Elena Dementieva/RUS
2004 Justine Henin-H./BEL d. Amelie Mauresmo/FRA
2008 Elena Dementieva/RUS d. Dinara Safina/RUS
2012 Serena Williams/USA d. Maria Sharapova/RUS
2016 Monica Puig/PUR d. Angelique Kerber/GER
2021 Belinda Bencic/SUI d. Marketa Vondrousova/CZE
[BRONZE MEDAL MATCH]
1996 Jana Novotna/CZE d. Mary Joe Fernandez/USA
2000 Monica Seles/USA d. Jelena Dokic/AUS
2004 Alicia Molik/AUS d. Anastasia Myskina/RUS
2008 Vera Zvonareva/RUS d. Li Na/CHN
2012 Victoria Azarenka/BLR d. Maria Kirilenko/RUS
2016 Petra Kvitova/CZE d. Madison Keys/USA
2021 Elina Svitolina/UKR d. Elena Rybakina/KAZ
*GOLD MEDAL MATCHES - men's singles*
1988 Miloslav Mecir/TCH d. Tim Mayotte/USA
1992 Marc Rosset/SUI d. Jordi Arrese/ESP
1996 Andre Agassi/USA d. Sergi Bruguera/ESP
2000 Yevgeny Kafelnikov/RUS d. Tommy Haas/GER
2004 Nicolas Massu/CHI d. Mardy Fish/USA
2008 Rafael Nadal/ESP d. Fernando Gonzalez/CHI
2012 Andy Murray/GBR d. Roger Federer/SUI
2016 Andy Murray/GBR d. Juan Martin del Potro/ARG
2021 Alexander Zverev/GER d. Karen Khachanov/ROC
[BRONZE MEDAL MATCH]
1996 Leander Paes/IND d. Fernando Meligeni/BRA
2000 Arnaud di Pasquale/ITA d. Roger Federer/SUI
2004 Fernando Gonzalez/CHI d. Taylor Dent/USA
2008 Novak Djokovic/SRB d. James Blake/USA
2012 Juan Martin del Potro/ARG d. Novak Djokovic/SRB
2016 Kei Nishikori/JPN d. Rafael Nadal/ESP
2021 Pablo Carreno Busta/ESP d. Novak Djokovic/SRB
*REACHED OLYMPIC S/D-M FINALS IN SAME GAMES*
2000 Sydney - Venus Williams, USA (W/W)
2004 Athens - Nicolas Massu, CHI (W/W)
2012 London - Serena Williams, USA (W/W)
2021 Tokyo - Belinda Bencic, SUI (W/L)
*ALL-TIME OLYMPIC TENNIS MEDALS*
5...Venus Williams, USA
5...Kitty McKane, GBR
4...Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, ESP
4...Serena Williams, USA
[men]
3...Mike Bryan, USA
3...Fernando Gonzalez, CHI
3...Andy Murray, GBR #
3...Rafael Nadal, ESP #
[GOLD medals]
4...Serena Williams, USA
4...Venus Williams, USA
*MULTIPLE OLYMPIC MEDALS, since 1988; #-active in 2024*
5...Venus Williams, USA #
4...Serena Williams, USA
4...Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, ESP
3...Mike Bryan, USA
3...Mary Joe Fernandez, USA
3...Fernando Gonzalez, CHI
3...Steffi Graf, FRG/GER
3...Conchita Martinez, ESP
3...Andy Murray, GBR #
3...Rafael Nadal, ESP #
3...Jana Novotna, TCH/CZE
2...Victoria Azarenka, BLR #
2...Belinda Bencic, SUI #
2...Bob Bryan, USA
2...Juan Martin del Potro, ARG
2...Elena Dementieva, RUS
2...Roger Federer, SUI
2...Gigi Fernandez, USA
2...Zina Garrison, USA
2...Lucie Hradecka, CZE
2...Goran Ivanisevic, CRO
2...Nicolas Massu, CHI
2...Miloslav Mecir, TCH
2...Virginia Ruano Pascual, ESP
2...Jack Sock, USA
2...Helena Sukova, TCH/CZE
2...Elena Vesnina, RUS #
2...Todd Woodbridge, AUS
2...Mark Woodforde, AUS
*OLYMPIC TENNIS #1 SEEDS, w/ result*
[women]
1984 (demonstration) Kathy Horvath, USA (QF)
1988 Steffi Graf, FRG (Gold)
1992 Steffi Graf, GER (Silver)
1996 Monica Seles, USA (QF)
2000 Lindsay Davenport, USA (2nd Rd - w/d)
2004 Justine Henin-Hardenne, BEL (Gold)
2008 Ana Ivanovic, SRB (w/d)
2012 Victoria Azarenka, BLR (Bronze)
2016 Serena Williams, USA (3rd Rd.)
2021 Ash Barty, AUS (1st Rd.)
2024 Iga Swiatek, POL
[men]
1984 (demonstration) Jimmy Arias, USA (SF)
1988 Stefan Edberg, SWE (Bronze)
1992 Jim Courier, USA (3rd Rd.)
1996 Andre Agassi, USA (Gold)
2000 Marat Safin, RUS (1st Rd.)
2004 Roger Federer, SUI (2nd Rd.)
2008 Roger Federer, SUI (QF)
2012 Roger Federer, SUI (Silver)
2016 Novak Djokovic, SRB (1st Rd.)
2021 Novak Djokovic, SRB (SF)
2024 Novak Djokovic, SRB
All for now.
