Six tennis events were contested at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. Indoor tennis events, on what were officially called 'covered courts', were held for the first time, along with the usual outdoor events. Women's events were contested, with women's singles and indoor women's singles. The indoor events were held at the covered courts of the Queen's Club and began on 6 May 1908, ahead of the official start of the Games while the outdoor tournament was played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club at Worple Road from 6 July through 11 July 1908. In total 50 players, 40 men and 10 women, competed. Five nations made their tennis debuts, while five more returned to competition for a total of ten nations. Two players, Les Poidevin and Wimbledon champion Anthony Wilding were nominated for Australasia but through administrative bungling they were not entered.
Czechoslovakia's Miloslav Mečíř defeated the United States' Tim Mayotte in the final, 3–6, 6–2, 6–4, 6–2, to win the gold medal in Men's Singles tennis at the 1988 Summer Olympics. It was Czechoslovakia's first medal at the event. The United States' Brad Gilbert and Sweden's Stefan Edberg won the bronze medals. It was Sweden's first men's singles Olympic medal.
The United States' Ken Flach and Robert Seguso defeated Spain's Sergio Casal and Emilio Sánchez in the final, 6–3, 6–4, 6–7(5–7), 6–7(1–7), 9–7 to win the gold medal in Men's Singles tennis at the 1988 Summer Olympics. It was the second consecutive American victory in the event and its record-equaling third gold overall. Czechoslovaka's Miloslav Mečíř and Milan Šrejber and Sweden's Stefan Edberg and Anders Järryd won the bronze medals. It was the first medal in the event for Spain, Sweden, and Czechoslovakia.
The men's singles was an event on the tennis at the 1900 Summer Olympics program in Paris. It was held on 6 July and 11 July 1900. A total of 13 players from three nations competed, with two additional players withdrawing. This was the first time in Olympic history that Great Britain had a medal sweep in an event. Laurence Doherty took top honors, beating Harold Mahony in the final. Laurence's brother Reginald refused to play Laurence in the semifinals and forfeited; he and Arthur Norris are considered bronze medalists.
The women's singles was an event on the Tennis at the 1900 Summer Olympics program in Paris. It was held from 6 to 11 July at the Île de Puteaux. There were 6 competitors from 4 nations. The event was won by Charlotte Cooper of Great Britain. France's Hélène Prévost was the silver medalist, while American Marion Jones Farquhar and Hedwiga Rosenbaumová of Bohemia are credited with bronze medals. The event made Cooper the first female individual Olympic champion.
The men's doubles was an event on the tennis at the 1900 Summer Olympics program in Paris from 6 to 11 July. Sixteen players from 3 nations competed as eight pairs, including two mixed teams. The event was won by brothers Laurence Doherty and Reginald Doherty, defeating Max Décugis of France and Basil Spalding de Garmendia of the United States in the final. With no bronze medal match, bronzes went to two teams: the French pair of Guy de la Chapelle and André Prévost and the British pair of Harold Mahony
Arthur Norris.
The men's singles was one of two tennis events on the Tennis at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme. The sixteen entrants were seeded into a single-elimination tournament, with only thirteen or fifteen of the players actually competing. They represented six nations.
The women's singles (outdoor) was one of six lawn tennis events on the Tennis at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. The number of withdrawals resulted in empty brackets, with one player making it to the final without playing a single match while another had to win two to advance to that point. Nations could enter up to 12 players. In all, 13 women from 4 nations were entered but only 5 from Great Britain competed. The tournament was held from 7 to 11 July at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. It was won by Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers, with Dora Boothby taking silver and Ruth Winch bronze.
The men's outdoor doubles' was one of six lawn tennis events on the Tennis at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Nations could enter up to 6 pairs. The event was plagued by withdrawals, with only 12 teams competing of the 21 that entered. There were 24 players from 8 nations. The event was won by Reginald Doherty and George Hillyard after defeating James Cecil Parke and Major Ritchie in the final. Clement Cazalet and Charles P. Dixon took the bronze medal without a bronze medal match due to the withdrawal of an entire quadrant of the bracket. All three medal pairs were British. It was the second medal sweep in the men's doubles, after the United States did it in 1904, and it was also the last time that the men's doubles gold medal match was contested by pairs representing the same nation until Tokyo 2021. Doherty became the first man to win multiple men's doubles medals and gold medals, having earned gold with his brother Laurence Doherty in 1900.
The indoor men's singles was one of six lawn tennis events on the Tennis at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Nations could enter up to 12 players.
The (outdoor) men's singles competition at the 1912 Summer Olympics was part of the tennis program for the games. There were 49 competitors from 12 nations. Nations were limited to 8 players each. The event was won by Charles Winslow in an all-South African final over Harold Kitson; they were the nation's first medals in the men's singles. Oscar Kreuzer of Germany won the bronze medal match against Bohemian Ladislav Žemla.
The outdoor women's singles competition at the 1912 Summer Olympics was part of the tennis program for the games. It was held from 1 to 4 July at Östermalms IP. 12 women from 5 nations entered, but only 8 players from 4 nations actually competed. The event was won by Marguerite Broquedis of France, the nation's first victory in the women's singles. Dorothea Köring of Germany took silver and Molla Mallory of Norway earned bronze; both nations were making their debut in women's singles.
The outdoor men's doubles competition at the 1912 Summer Olympics was part of the tennis program for the games. There were 42 players from 10 nations, comprising 21 teams. Nations were limited to 4 pairs each. The event was won by South African team Harold Kitson and Charles Winslow, defeating Austrians Felix Pipes and Arthur Zborzil in the final. It was the first medal in the event for both nations. France earned its first men's double since 1900 as Albert Canet and Édouard Mény de Marangue defeated Jaroslav Just and Ladislav Žemla of Bohemia in the bronze medal match.
The outdoor mixed doubles competition at the 1912 Summer Olympics was part of the tennis program for the games. It was held from 1 to 5 July at Östermalms IP. 13 teams entered, but only 6 played. The event was won by German pair Dorothea Köring and Heinrich Schomburgk. The silver medalists were Sweden's Sigrid Fick and Gunnar Setterwall, while French team Marguerite Broquedis and Albert Canet took bronze.
The men's singles was a tennis event held as part of the tennis at the 1920 Summer Olympics programme. It was the sixth appearance of the event. A total of 44 players from 15 nations entered in the event; 41 players from 14 nations competed. The event was held from 16 to 23 August 1920 at the Beerschot Tennis Club. Nations were limited to four players each. The event was won by Louis Raymond of South Africa, the nation's second consecutive in the event. South Africa had nearly had both finalists again, as it had in 1912, but defending champion Charles Winslow fell to Japan's Ichiya Kumagae in the semifinal; Winslow took bronze by walkover against Noel Turnbull of Great Britain. Kumagae's silver was Japan's first medal in the event.
The men's doubles was a tennis event held as part of the Tennis at the 1920 Summer Olympics programme. It was the sixth appearance of the event. A total of 44 players from 11 nations competed in the event, which was held from 16 to 24 August 1920 at the Beerschot Tennis Club. Nations were limited to four pairs each. The event was won by Noel Turnbull and Max Woosnam of Great Britain, defeating Seiichiro Kashio and Ichiya Kumagae of Japan in the final. It was Great Britain's third victory in the men's doubles, most of any nation. Japan's silver came in its debut in the event. France earned its second consecutive bronze medal as Pierre Albarran and Max Decugis had a walkover in what would have been an all-France bronze medal match.
The women's singles was a tennis event held as part of the Tennis at the 1920 Summer Olympics programme. A total of 18 players from 7 nations competed in the event, which was held from 16 to 24 August 1920 at the Beerschot Tennis Club. The event was won by Suzanne Lenglen of France, defeating Dorothy Holman of Great Britain in the final. It was the second consecutive victory for a French woman, with Marguerite Broquedis winning the pre-war 1912 tournament. Kathleen McKane Godfree of Great Britain defeated Sigrid Fick of Sweden in the bronze medal match.
Spain's Rafael Nadal defeated Chile's Fernando González in the final, 6–3, 7–6(7–2), 6–3 to win the gold medal in Men's Singles tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics. The win gave him the third of five components of the career Golden Slam, having already won the French Open and Wimbledon. He would go on to win the Australian Open and the U.S. Open to become the second man to complete the career Golden Slam in singles. Following the event, Nadal became the world No. 1 for the first time, ending Roger Federer's record streak of 237 consecutive weeks with the top ranking. González became the first man to win a medal in men's singles across consecutive Olympiads since Charles Winslow in 1920. In the bronze medal match, Serbia's Novak Djokovic defeated the United States' James Blake, 6–3, 7–6(7–4). It was Serbia's first Olympic tennis medal.
Great Britain's Andy Murray defeated Switzerland's Roger Federer in the final, 6–2, 6–1, 6–4 to win the gold medal in men's singles tennis at the 2012 Summer Olympics. The final was a rematch of the Wimbledon final played at the same venue four weeks prior, in which Federer prevailed. Federer was attempting to become the third man to complete the career Golden Slam in singles. It was Federer's third consecutive Olympics as the singles world No. 1, but his silver finish remains his only Olympic medal in singles. In the bronze medal match, Argentina's Juan Martín del Potro defeated Serbia's Novak Djokovic, 7–5, 6–4. Murray's gold was Great Britain's first medal at the event since 1908, and the nation's record fourth overall. Federer's silver was Switzerland's first medal at the event since 1992. Del Potro's bronze was Argentina's first medal at the event overall.
The United States' Serena Williams defeated Russia's Maria Sharapova in the final, 6–0, 6–1 to win the gold medal in Women's Singles tennis at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Both finalists were attempting to become the second woman to complete the career Golden Slam in singles. Williams won the gold without losing a set, without losing more than three games in any set, and without losing more than five games in any match. Her serve was broken only once during the tournament. She also became the first tennis player to complete the career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles. It was the United States' first victory in the event since Serena's sister Venus Williams won in 2000, and its fifth gold overall. In the bronze medal match, Belarus' Victoria Azarenka defeated Russia's Maria Kirilenko, 6–3, 6–4.
