Background
This was the fifth appearance of the men's doubles tennis. The event has been held at every Summer Olympics where tennis has been on the program: from 1896 to 1924 and then from 1988 to the current program. A demonstration event was held in 1968. 1912 was the second and last time an indoor version was held concurrently.
The British brothers Laurence Doherty and Reginald Doherty had been dominant for the late 1890s and early 1900s, winning the 1900 Olympic championship and eight consecutive Wimbledon titles. Both had retired by 1912, however, and there was no dominant doubles team. [1]
The 1908 Official Report's recommendation to schedule Olympic tennis not so close to Wimbledon was not acted upon; indeed, the scheduling issue was worse in 1912. Rather than starting three days after the end of Wimbledon, the Olympic outdoor tennis events were now at the same time as Wimbledon. The indoor events, held in May, were thus attended by top-flight players, while the outdoor competitions were not. [3] [4] [5]
Denmark, Norway, Russia, and Sweden each made their debut in the event. Germany made its fourth appearance in the event, most among nations, having missed only the 1900 event.
At the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden eight tennis events were contested divided over two tournaments; an indoor covered courts tournament, played on wood, held from May 5 until May 12 and an outdoor hard court tournament, played on clay, held from June 28 until July 5.
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 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 mixed doubles 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 12 competitors from 4 nations, with 3 of the teams being mixed teams. The event was won by British pair Charlotte Cooper and Reginald Doherty. The other three medals were taken by the three mixed teams: Hélène Prévost of France and Harold Mahony of Great Britain earned silver, while the bronze medals went to the Bohemian/British combination of Hedwiga Rosenbaumová and Archibald Warden and the American/British pair of Marion Jones and Laurence Doherty. All 5 of the British players thus ended up receiving a medal.
France competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. 119 competitors, 118 men and 1 woman, took part in 66 events in 13 sports.
The men's (outdoor) singles was one of six lawn tennis events on the Tennis at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. The tournament was played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. There were 31 competitors from 9 nations. Nations could enter up to 12 players. The event was won by Major Ritchie of Great Britain, the nation's third victory in four Games. Otto Froitzheim earned Germany's first medal in the event with his silver. Another Briton, Wilberforce Eaves, took bronze.
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 men's doubles was a tennis event held as part of the Tennis at the 1904 Summer Olympics programme. It was the third time the event was held at the Olympics. There were 30 players from 2 nations, comprising 15 pairs including one mixed team. Only one player was from outside the United States; all medals were won by Americans. The event was won by Edgar Leonard and Beals Wright, defeating Alphonzo Bell and Robert LeRoy in the final. The two bronze medal pairs were Clarence Gamble (tennis)/Arthur Wear and Joseph Wear/Allen West. The medals were the first credited to the United States in the men's doubles, though an American had been part of a silver medal mixed team in 1900.
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 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 Indoor men's doubles competition at the 1912 Summer Olympics was part of the tennis program for the games.
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.
The mixed doubles was a tennis event held as part of the Tennis at the 1920 Summer Olympics programme. It was the third appearance of the event. A total of 32 players from 7 nations competed in the event, which was held from 17 to 24 August 1920 at the Beerschot Tennis Club. French pair Suzanne Lenglen and Max Decugis took gold, with British players Kathleen McKane Godfree and Max Woosnam earning silver and Czechoslovakia's Milada Skrbková and Ladislav Žemla winning bronze. It was the first victory for France in the event; Czechoslovakia earned its first mixed doubles medal in its event debut.
Belarus' Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi defeated Great Britain's Laura Robson and Andy Murray in the final, 2–6, 6–3, [10–8] to win the gold medal in Mixed Doubles tennis at the 2012 Summer Olympics. In the bronze medal match, the United States' Lisa Raymond and Mike Bryan defeated Germany's Sabine Lisicki and Christopher Kas, 6–3, 4–6, [10–4].
The mixed doubles tennis competition was one of five tennis events at the 1924 Summer Olympics. 42 players from 14 nations competed in the event, held from 14 to 21 July at the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir. The United States had both of its pairs reach the final, with Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman and R. Norris Williams defeating Marion Zinderstein and Vincent Richards for the gold medal. It was the first mixed doubles victory for the United States. Netherlands, in its debut in the event, took bronze with Kea Bouman and Hendrik Timmer having a walkover victory in the bronze-medal match against Kathleen McKane Godfree and Brian Gilbert of Great Britain.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Andrey Rublev of the Russian Olympic Committee defeated compatriots Elena Vesnina and Aslan Karatsev in the final, 6–3, 6–7(5–7), [13–11] to win the gold medal in Mixed Doubles tennis at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Australia's Ashleigh Barty and John Peers won the bronze medal following a withdrawal from Serbia's Nina Stojanović and Novak Djokovic. 32 competitors from 14 countries participated.
