Tennis at the 1896 Summer Olympics

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Tennis at the 1896 Summer Olympics
Tennis pictogram.svg
Date8–11 April 1896
Edition1st
SurfaceRed clay
Location Athens Lawn Tennis Club
Champions
Men's singles
Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  John Boland  (GBR)
Men's doubles
Olympic flag.svg  John Boland / Friedrich Traun  (ZZX)
Summer Olympics ·  1900  

At the 1896 Summer Olympics, two tennis events were contested, both for men. They began on 9 April and continued on 8 April, 10 April, and 11 April. [1] 13 or 15 competitors from six nations, including seven Greeks, took part in the tennis competition. Many of the doubles teams were of mixed nationality, including all three medalist pairs. None of the leading players of the time such as Wimbledon champion Harold Mahony, U.S champion Robert Wrenn, William Larned or Wilfred Baddeley participated. To strengthen the field, the organization added sportsmen from other Olympic events, including weightlifter Momčilo Tapavica, hammer thrower George S. Robertson and 800-metres runners Edwin Flack and Friedrich Traun. [2]

Contents

Schedule

Date8 April9 April10 April11 April
DayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturday
Men's singles Round 1QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
Men's doubles QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal

Medal summary

Tennis at the 1896 Summer Olympics BASA-3K-7-422-11-1896 Summer Olympics.jpg
Tennis at the 1896 Summer Olympics

These medals are retroactively assigned by the International Olympic Committee; at the time, winners were given a silver medal and runners-up bronze medals. Athletes coming third received no award.

Events

EventGoldSilverBronze
Men's singles John Boland
Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain
Dionysios Kasdaglis
Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece
Konstantinos Paspatis
Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece
Momčilo Tapavica
Flag of Hungary (1867-1918).svg  Hungary
Men's doubles Olympic flag.svg  Mixed team  (ZZX)
Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  John Boland  (GBR)
Flag of the German Empire.svg  Friedrich Traun  (GER)
Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece  (GRE)
Demetrios Petrokokkinos
Dionysios Kasdaglis
Olympic flag.svg  Mixed team  (ZZX)
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Edwin Flack  (AUS)
Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  George Robertson  (GBR)

The silver-medal winning doubles team of Kasdaglis and Petrokokkinos appears in the IOC results database as a Greek team. In this regard:

Medal table

Singles final in 1896 Olympic tennis 1896 Olympic tennis.jpg
Singles final in 1896 Olympic tennis
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1Olympic flag.svg  Mixed team 1012
2Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 1001
3Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg  Greece 0213
4Flag of Hungary (1867-1918).svg  Hungary 0011
Totals (4 entries)2237

Competitors from Australia and Germany won medals as a part of a mixed team in the doubles event.

Participating nations

A total of 13 tennis players from 6 nations competed at the Athens Games:

The International Society of Olympic Historians lists only thirteen players; according to them, British players Frank and George Marshall did not participate. Other sources do include the Marshalls, for a total of 15 players.

Notes

  1. Dates given are in the Gregorian calendar. Greece still used the Julian calendar at the time. According to that calendar, the tennis competition began on 27 March and closed on 30 March.
  2. Gillmeister, Heiner (1998). Tennis : A Cultural History (Repr. ed.). London: Leicester University Press. p.  227. ISBN   978-0718501952.

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References