Every four years, the Summer Olympics hosts a tennis competition for men's and women’s singles and doubles, as well as mixed doubles. The venue and court surface changes each time based on the host city.
In modern times, tennis has been a regular feature at the Olympics. Since the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, tennis has featured in every competition. However, tennis was not always a preferred event at the Olympics and had an on-off status before 1988.
Initially, tennis featured at the first-ever modern Olympics in Athens in 1896, and it remained on the schedule until 1924. The sport eventually returned in 1968 to coincide with the Open Era and growing professionalization. Yet, tennis was once again taken off the list after 1968, and it wouldn’t be played at the Olympic finals for another 20 years.
Since tennis has become a mainstay of the Olympics since 1988, it has ultimately become a crowd favorite. In addition, the competition’s prestige has a special place for the competition players. Due to this, many current and former Grand Slam winners have won Olympic gold in recent years.
Three-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray has won the most gold medals in the Open Era. The Brit won at the 2012 London Olympics, played at Wimbledon, and then achieved success at Rio de Janeiro in 2016. However, several other top players have won the men’s singles event, including Rafael Nadal, Andre Agassi, and Alexander Zverev.
Similarly, several players from the women’s elite have won gold at former Olympics. Both Serena Williams and Venus Williams won respective gold medals at the 2000 and 2012 Olympic finals. Other notable winners include Lindsay Davenport, who won in Atlanta, United States, and Steffi Graf.
