20 Greatest Tennis Moments in Olympic History

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: July 23, 2012

commentComment        

Tennis emerged as part of the modern Olympics in 1896. It was one of the original nine events included in the first Summer Games held in Athens.

In the first year of competition, John Pius Boland of England won the singles title. He teamed with German Friedrich Traun to win the men's doubles in the only two tennis competitions held that year.

Britain's three-time Wimbledon champion Charlotte Cooper won the singles title in St. Louis in 1904. She became the first female Olympic champion in tennis as well; the first woman in any sport to win an Olympic gold medal.

The last Olympic tennis played in London prior to 2012 was in 1908 at the All-England Club and at Queen's Club.

The 1948 Games were held in London, but tennis was not a part of the program.

Tennis was dropped from the Olympics for 64 years, beginning with the 1924 Antwerp games until 1968 in Mexico City when it returned briefly as a "demonstration" sport. 1968 also marked the beginning of the Open Era of tennis, allowing professionals and amateurs to compete against one another.

Tennis had been eliminated from the Olympics because the International Tennis Federation and the International Olympic Committee were in dispute over the IOC's unyielding definition of "amateur." At the time, only amateur athletes were allowed into Olympic competition.

Now, of course, professional athletes compete on the world stage with amateurs in many disciplines like men's and women's basketball, although highlighting the efforts of amateur athletes around the globe remains preferable.

Tennis became part of the regular Olympic program again starting in 1988 in Seoul. The year 2012 marks the seventh year of Olympic competition with this year's games in London.

As we look back on the past six Summer Olympic seasons in tennis competition, these have been the most memorable tennis moments...

Begin Slideshow

...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

Latest News


Comments

Comments are closed.

Sponsors

Bruins Tickets The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Red Wings Tickets The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

Penguins Tickets The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New York Rangers Tickets play their home games at Madison Square Garden, they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six.

San Jose Sharks Tickets The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States.

Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New Jersey Devils Tickets The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Washington Capitals Tickets The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.

Buffalo Sabres Tickets The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League. Get the Sabres and all of your NHL Tickets here.

NASCAR season is on of the most attended sports in the world. NASCAR Tickets to the best tracks is a must every year. Some of these tracks are: Talladega Tickets, Lowes Motor Speedway Tickets, Pocono Raceway Tickets, located in Ridgeway Virginia you have Martinsville Speedway Tickets and southern US you have two of the most popular Atlanta Motor Speedway Tickets and Texas Motor Speedway Tickets. Don't miss all the racing events this year!

Boston Red Sox Tickets The Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since 1912, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park. This is one of the hottest MLB Tickets sales of any team in the major league.

New York Yankees Tickets The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division. Get tickets to one of the hottest games of the season Yankees Red Sox Tickets.

Chicago Cubs Tickets The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League.

Phillies Tickets The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883.

Orioles Tickets The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Do you love wrestling? Get your WWE Tickets and WWE Survivor Series Tickets today!