Athletistic/Tennis. Tennis at the Olympics was introduced in 1896 but was cancelled after 1924, marking the high point of the amateur era. It returned to the Seoul Olympics in 1988 and since then we have seen 8 Olympic champions. Let’s remember each of them.

#1 Miloslav Mecir

The 1988 Seoul Games launched tennis into the open era and have been held at every Olympic Games since. Miloslav Mecir of Czechoslovakia went on to win the gold medal, beating American Tim Mayotte.

#2 Marc Rosset

Swiss Rosset won Olympic gold in Barcelona in 1992, defeating Jordi Arrese in a thrilling five-set match. Previously, 5 sets were also played at the Olympic Games, just like in the Grand Slam tournaments.

#3 Andre Agassi

Americans have had the most success at the Olympics and lead the medal count in tennis. Andre Agassi beat Sergi Bruguera in straight sets to win gold in 1996.

Agassi had an impressive tennis career, during which he won eight Grand Slam titles and was world number one for 101 weeks.

#4 Eugene Kafelnikov

At the turn of the 21st century, the usual five-set system was replaced by a three-set system, with the five-set format retained only for the men’s singles and doubles finals. Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov reached the podium in 2000 by defeating German Tommy Haas in a five-set match.

#5 Nicolas Massu

The Chilean made his dream come true by winning the gold medal not only in singles, but also in men’s doubles with Fernando Gonzalez, which gave Chile two gold medals in one go. Gonzalez himself won bronze in singles, making Chile the best tennis team at the 2004 Athens Games.

To this day, Massu remains the only tennis player in the Open Era to have won gold in both singles and doubles at the same Olympic Games.

#6Rafael Nadal

Nadal won his first Olympic gold medal in 2008, beating Fernando Gonzalez, the previous Olympic bronze medalist. At the Beijing Games, Novak Djokovic also won a bronze medal, his only Olympic medal to date.

Roger Federer won the gold medal in men’s doubles, making the 2008 Olympics the only time the famous “Big Three” were on the podium. Nadal also won gold in men’s doubles at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

#7Andy Murray

Andy Murray stopped Roger Federer from winning the London 2012 final before winning mixed doubles silver with Laura Robson. Before Murray, Britain dominated the singles categories in the amateur era, but there was an inexplicable decline with the advent of the Open era.

At the 2016 Olympics, Murray again won the gold medal, defeating Juan Martin del Potro, the bronze medallist at the 2012 London Games. Murray is the only player to hold two gold medals in singles.

The 2024 Olympics are the final tournament of Murray’s career, he is paired with Daniel Evans. Today, the British pair reached the quarter-finals.

#8 Alexander Zverev

Tokyo 2020 (held in 2021 due to the coronavirus) was the first to use a three-set format, even in men’s singles, including the finals. Germany’s Alexander Zverev beat Russia’s Karen Khachenov. It was also the first time the U.S. team went home without a single tennis medal.

Vyacheslav Gorbachev, Athletistic



Athletistic