Olympic Tennis Men
Tennis was first played at the Summer Olympics at the 1896 Olympics, which were held in Athens. In this tournament, only two events were played: men’s singles and men’s doubles. Between 1928 and 1984, tennis was not included in the program of the Olympic Games and made a comeback in 1988 at the Olympic Games in Seoul.
The following table lists all medalists in the men’s singles event at the Olympic Games.
Tennis winners in men’s singles at the Olympic Games
| Year | Gold | Money | Bronze |
| 1896 | John Plus Boland (Great Britain) | Dionysios Kasdaglis (Greece) | Konstantinos Paspatis, Momcsilló Tapavicza (Greece, Hungary) |
| 1900 | Laurence Doherty (Great Britain) | Harold Mahony (Great Britain) | Reginald Doherty, Arthur Norris (Great Britain) |
| 1904 | Beals Wright (United States) | Robert LeRoy (United States) | Alphonzo Bell, Edgar Leonard (United States) |
| 1908 | Josiah Ritchie (Great Britain) | Otto Froitzheim (Germany) | Wilberforce Eaves (Great Britain) |
| 1912 | Charles Winslaw (South Africa) | Harold Kitson (South Africa) | Oscar Kreuzer (Germany) |
| 1920 | Louis Raymond (South Africa) | Ichiya Kumagae (Japan) | Charles Winslow (South Africa) |
| 1924 | Vincent Richards (United States) | Henri Cochet (France) | Umberto De Morpurgo (Italy) |
| 1988 | Miloslav MeÄÃÅ™ (Czechoslovakia) | Tim Mayotte (United States) | Brad Gilbert, Stefan Edberg (United States, Sweden) |
| 1992 | Marc Rosset (Switzerland) | Jordi Arrese (Spain) | Andrei CHERKASOV, Goran Ivaniševic (Unified team, Croatia) |
| 1996 | André Agassi (United States) | Sergi Bruguera (Spain) | Leander Paes (India) |
| 2000 | Yevgeny Kafelnikov (Russia) | Tommy Haas (Germany) | Arnaud Di Pasquale (France) |
| 2004 | Nicolás Massú (Chile) | Mardy Fish (United States) | Fernando González (Chile) |
| 2008 | Rafael Nadal (Spain) | Fernando González (Chile) | Novak Ãokovic (Serbia) |
| 2012 | Andy Murray (Great Britain) | Roger Federer (Switzerland) | Juan MartÃn del Potro (Argentina) |
| 2016 | Andy Murray (Great Britain) | Juan MartÃn del Potro (Argentina) | Kei Nishikori (Japan) |
Women’s Olympic tennis
Women were allowed to compete in Olympic tennis in singles and mixed doubles starting at the 1900 Paris Olympics.
Serena Williams, left, and Venus Williams of the United States laugh together on the podium after receiving their gold medals in women’s doubles at the 2012 Summer Olympics at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, London.
Elise Amendola (AP)
However, equality was still a controversial issue and they were not included in the 1904 Olympic program.
Olympic Women’s Singles Tennis Winners
| Year | Gold | Money | Bronze |
| 1900 | Charlotte Cooper (Great Britain) | Hélène Prévost (France) | Marion Jones, Hedwiga Rosenbaumová (United States, Bohemia) |
| 1908 | Dorothea Lambert Chambers (Great Britain) | Dora Boothby (Great Britain) | Ruth Winch (Great Britain) |
| 1912 | Marguerite Broquedis (France) | Dorothea Köring (Germany) | Molla Bjurstedt (Norway) |
| 1920 | Suzanne Lenglen (France) | Dorothy Holman (Great Britain) | Kitty McKane (Great Britain) |
| 1924 | Helen Wills (United States) | Julie Vlasto (France) | Kitty McKane (Great Britain) |
| 1988 | Steffi Graf (West Germany) | Gabriela Sabatini (Argentina) | Zina Garrison, Manuela Maleeva (USA, Bulgaria) |
| 1992 | Jennifer Capriati (United States) | Steffi Graf (Germany) | Mary Joe Fernández, Arantxa Sanchez vicario |
| 1996 | Lindsay Davenport (United States) | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (Spain) | Jana Novotná (Czech Republic) |
| 2000 | Venus Williams (United States) | Elena Dementieva (Russia) | Monica Seles (United States) |
| 2004 | Justine Hénin-Hardenne (Belgium) | Amélie Mauresmo (France) | Alicia Molik (Australia) |
| 2008 | Elena Dementieva (Russia) | Dinara Safina (Russia) | Vera Zvonareva (Russia) |
| 2012 | Serena Williams (United States) | Maria Sharapova (Russia) | Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) |
| 2016 | Monica Puig (Puerto Rico) | Angélique Kerber (Germany) | Petra Kvitová (Czech Republic) |
United States Olympic medalists
Since tennis made its comeback in 1988 with Helen Wills’ gold medal in the US and silver from Tim Mayotte, Team USA has been the clear leader in medals with 14 gold medals and an overall average of 24 between men’s and women’s competitions.
American Venus Williams (four gold, one silver) joined by England’s Kathleen McKane (one gold, two silver and two bronze) both hold the record for most Olympic medals in tennis. Additionally, Venus Williams won a record four gold medals with her sister Serena Williams in the women’s doubles. It is only three times that a competitor has won consecutive titles and the team formed by the American sisters William, who won the women’s doubles in 2008 and 2012, is one of them, as well as the doubly formed by Mary Joe Fernandez and Gigi. Fernandez did it.
“It was an amazing experience, five Olympics for me, it’s surreal every time I think I even went out with any material at all.”
Venus Williams
Andre Agassi, Brad Gilbert, Mardy Fish, Lindsay Davenport and Monica Seles have also contributed to the 24 medals awarded in the United States over the past 28 years.
