Tennis at the Summer Olympics

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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 allowing amateur players to compete. After two appearances as a demonstration sport in 1968 and 1984, it returned as a full medal sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics and has been played at every edition of the Games since then.

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

From the 2004 Athens Olympics until the 2012 London Olympics, results from the Olympics was counted towards both the ATP and WTA world rankings in singles for that calendar year; no points were awarded for the 2016 Rio Olympics. While the ranking points distribution did not equate to those given at the Grand Slam tournaments, the Olympic tournaments have increased in perceived importance since their reintroduction, with some players, critics and sports pundits considering winning the gold at the Olympics just as prestigious as winning a Grand Slam title.

A player who wins an Olympic gold medal and all four Grand Slam events in the same year is said to have won a Golden Slam. As of 2016, Steffi Graf is the only player to have completed this achievement.

Video Tennis at the Summer Olympics

Surface

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) and the 2012 Olympics (which was played on a grass court). The changing playing surface gives certain players different advantages and disadvantages not seen in most other Olympic sports.

Maps Tennis at the Summer Olympics

Events

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

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Singles champions and venues since 1988

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Participating nations

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Medal tables

All years (1896-1924, 1988-2016)

1988-2016

1896-1924

Multiple medal winners (1896-2016)

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See also

• List of Olympic venues in tennis
• Tennis at the Mediterranean Games
• Tennis at the Pan American Games
• List of Olympic medalists in tennis

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References

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External links

• Olympic Tennis Event website (International Tennis Federation)

Source of the article : Wikipedia