TennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
competitions
at the 2008 Summer OlympicsThe 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
in
BeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
were held from August 10 to August 17 at the
Olympic Green Tennis CentreThe Olympic Green Tennis Center or Beijing Olympic Green Tennis Court , is a tennis centre located in the Olympic Green. It opened on 1 October 2007...
. The
DecoTurfDecoTurf is a tennis hardcourt comprising layers of acrylic, rubber, silica, and other materials on top of an asphalt or concrete base. It is manufactured by Decosystems, which is a division of California Products Corporation which also manufactures Plexipave, based in Andover, Massachusetts.The...
surface rendered the event a
hardcourtHardcourt or hard court describes a form of surface or floor on which a sport is played. It may refer to an indoor court made from a wood, or more specifically hardwood such as maple, as in basketball or indoor soccer. Alternatively, it may refer to outdoor materials such as asphalt, shale, or clay...
tournament.
The women's singles event proved notable for being one of only two Olympiads — and the first since
1908The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England, United Kingdom. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome. At the time they were the fifth modern Olympic games...
— in which all tennis medalists were from the same country. Despite their singles victories, however, the
Russian womenRussia competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, People's Republic of China, represented by the Russian Olympic Committee. Russia competed in all sports except baseball, football, field hockey, softball and taekwondo.-Medalists:...
failed to advance past the quarterfinals of the women's doubles. Instead, Beijing brought the return of the gold medal to the
United StatesThe United States competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. American athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games since the 1896 Summer Olympics except the 1980 Summer Olympics, which the U.S. boycotted. The United States entered the Games as the most successful nation in...
, following
their only failure to capture the goldThe women's doubles competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics was part of the tennis program for the games, and was held at the Olympic Tennis Centre in Athens, Greece.-Medalists:-Seeds:# # ...
since the event's re-introduction at the
Seoul gamesTennis returned to the Summer Olympic Games at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, having been left out since the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. Tennis had been a demonstration sport at the 1984 Summer Olympics....
.
The men's singles featured the first time an Olympic tennis player had medaled in consecutive Olympiads since the
1920 gamesFinal results for the Tennis competition at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. The competition was held from Monday, August 16, 1920 to Tuesday, August 24, 1920.-Men's events:-Women's events:-Mixed events:-Participating nations:...
, while the men's doubles gave
SwitzerlandSwitzerland competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. This is a list of all of the Swiss athletes who have qualified for the Olympics and have been nominated by Swiss Olympic Association.-Medalists:- Archery:...
its first medal in the event. The doubles also returned Switzerland and the United States to the medals stand for the first time since the 1988 re-introduction of the sport.
Qualification
The majority of players in the singles competitions (56 of 64 players in the draw) gained entry through their position in either the
ATPThe Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
(men) or
WTAThe Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
(women) rankings. The remaining eight places were given to six players who gained ITF places (wild cards) and two who received invitations from the Tripartite Commission, which were intended to go to
National Olympic CommitteeNational Olympic Committees are the national constituents of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, they are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games...
s (NOCs) with small teams. For the doubles competitions, 10 players qualified directly. The remaining 86 places were allocated by the
International Tennis FederationThe International Tennis Federation is the governing body of world tennis, made up of 205 national tennis associations.It was established as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by 12 national associations meeting at a conference in Paris, France on 1 March 1913...
(ITF) based on world singles rankings. This method of allocating doubles places angered some players, such as
Leander PaesLeander Adrian Paes, pronounced pās, is an Indian professional tennis player who currently features in the doubles events in the ATP tour and the Davis Cup tournament...
, and led to some perceived discrepancies:
Martin DammMartin Damm was a professional tennis player from Czechia. He is 6'2" 195 lb and is best known as a doubles player . ,his highest singles ranking 42 as of August 1997...
and
Pavel VíznerPavel Vízner is a professional male tennis player from the Czech Republic. Vízner has reached the French Open final twice, having had turned professional in 1990 and achieved a career high doubles ranking of World Number 5 on September 10, 2007.- Career :While Vízner had played tournaments in 1988...
of the
Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic participated in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The Czech delegation consisted of around 130 athletes.-Medalists:- Archery:MenWomen-Men:Track and road eventsField events...
, ranked eighth in the
ATP RaceThe ATP defined the ATP Race as "an easy-to-understand, simple-to-follow annual race from season start to season end. Every player starts at zero at the beginning of the year and the player who accumulates the most points by season's end is the World Number 1" and claims that the Race "is the...
, were not seeded, whereas
Nicolás AlmagroNicolas Almagro Sanchez Rolle is a professional Spanish tennis player, ranked 10 on the ATP World Tour.-2005:...
and
David FerrerDavid Ferrer Ern is a Spanish professional tennis player who lives in Valencia, Spain who is currently no. 5 in the ATP Rankings and the second-highest ranked Spaniard behind world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. He turned professional in 2000...
of
SpainSpain competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China with 286 athletes.-Medalists:- Archery:Spain sent one archer to the Olympics...
, who were highly ranked in singles but had not played doubles together before, were seeded fifth.
In the doubles, as in every team event at the Olympics, athletes had to compete on the side of athletes from the same NOC. This method of forming teams meant that Canadian world number one
Daniel NestorDaniel Mark Nestor, CM , born Danijel Nestorović September 4, 1972, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, is a Serbian-born Canadian professional tennis player from Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
had to find a new partner (his partner at the time was Serb
Nenad ZimonjićNenad Zimonjić is a professional Serbian tennis player who is currently ranked World No. 3 in men's doubles. He is the second tennis doubles player from Serbia to hold the World No.1, after Slobodan Živojinović.-Career:...
) and led one South African player,
Liezel HuberLiezel Huber is a professional tennis player who competes for, resides in, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On November 12, 2007,...
, to seek U.S. citizenship so that she had the opportunity to play. Each NOC could submit a maximum of 6 players; this sextet could be composed of a maximum of four singles players and four doubles players (two teams).
The rankings of July 9 were used to determine the direct entrants. A number of tournaments, including the prestigious
Wimbledon ChampionshipsThe 2008 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 122nd edition of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam event of the year...
took place between this date and the time of the Games beginning, and some players re-entered the qualification places during this time.
Rainer SchüttlerRainer Schüttler is a German professional tennis player, ranked World No. 113 in the ATP rankings. He is the last German player who reached a final in a grand slam tournament....
, who was propelled up the rankings by his semi-final appearance at Wimbledon, went to the
Court of Arbitration for SportThe Court of Arbitration for Sport is an international arbitration body set up to settle disputes related to sport. Its headquarters are in Lausanne and its courts are located in New York, Sydney and Lausanne, Switzerland...
and won his right to play at the Olympics, provoking a hostile response from the ITF, as it was a deviation from their original regulations.
ITF places
ITF places, ostensibly a form of
wild cardThe term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...
, were awarded to six players in both the men and women's singles, with one further place dispensed in the women's competition after
Stephanie VogtStephanie Vogt is a professional tennis player from Liechtenstein. She was born in Vaduz. Her highest WTA singles ranking was 221, which she reached on May 19, 2008. Her career high in doubles was 332, reached on the same date.Vogt had a successful junior career, winning 5 ITF singles titles, as...
, entering via the Tripartite Commission, withdrew. The four official criteria for ITF place consideration were world ranking (no numeric specification), whether the country was represented in the tennis event, the number of players on site, and geographical location. However, there was some flexibility to these regulations: ITF president Ricci Bitti stated that it was his intention for the ITF places to grant opportunities to young players and players from under-represented countries, and to reward players who had competed diligently for their nation in the
DavisThe Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
or
Fed CupFed Cup is the premier team competition in women's tennis, launched in 1963 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the International Tennis Federation...
, or whom were former medalists.
The ITF places were announced on July 30.
Sun PengSun Peng （October 19, 1983） is a male Chinese tennis player. He was the national singles champion in 2005.Peng and Zeng Shao-Xuan were the only male singles competitors for China at the 2008 Summer Olympics.- References:...
was originally the only Chinese man to enter the men's singles, and did so through the ITF places. Accompanying Sun were multiple Grand Slam doubles titlists
Max MirnyiMax Mirnyi is a professional tennis player from Belarus.Today Mirnyi is a doubles specialist, but he also enjoyed a good singles career, finishing in the top 50 in the world for seven straight years, as well as representing Belarus in Davis Cup competition since April 1994, where he holds a...
and
Jonas BjörkmanJonas Lars Björkman is a former World Number 4 Swedish professional tennis player. He is also a former World No. 1 in doubles. Björkman retired from professional tennis after competing at the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup Doubles championships....
(who was retiring at the end of the year), nascent stars such as
Kei Nishikoriis a Japanese tennis player, currently ranked 25th in the world, as of 10 October 2011. He began playing tennis at the age of five, and on 17 July 2007 he qualified for his first ATP main draw event at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles, California at the age of 17.-Junior career:Nishikori won...
and
Kevin AndersonKevin Anderson is a male South African tennis player.He became the top-ranked South African player on 10 March 2008 after making the final at the 2008 Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas...
, and defending champion
Nicolás MassúNicolás Alejandro Massú Fried , nicknamed Vampiro , is a Chilean tennis player, a former world number nine in singles, and a two-time Olympic gold medalist...
. In the women's singles, the ITF places went to
Alicia MolikAlicia Molik is a Australian professional female tennis player. She reached a career high singles rank of number 8 and also won a bronze medal for Australia at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Molik also reached a career high doubles ranking of number 6, and won two grand slam doubles titles, at the...
, a bronze medalist in 2004, and
Chan Yung-janChan Yung-jan , Taiwan) is a professional female tennis player from Republic of China . She has won 13 ITF singles titles; and 7 WTA and 11 ITF doubles titles. Her career highlights include semifinals in the Japan Open in 2006 and finals in the PTT Bangkok Open in 2007 Chan Yung-jan , Taiwan) is a...
, a young player, with the remaining spots going to
Mariya Koryttseva Mariya Koryttseva is a Ukrainian female tennis player. Her career high ranking is No. 50 in the world, which she achieved on August 18, 2008....
,
Nuria Llagostera Vives Nuria Llagostera Vives is a Spanish female tennis player. On June 6, 2005, Llagostera Vives reached her career-high singles ranking, World No. 35.During her career she has won 2 singles titles and 11 in doubles...
,
Ayumi Moritais a Japanese female tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of 42nd in the world on June 6, 2011 and is currently the highest ranked Japanese player in the world at World No. 46, the seventh overall in Asia. At Junior level, she reached a career high ranking of No. 3.Morita is known for...
,
Selima SfarSelima Sfar is a Tunisian female professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1999 and has been ranked as high as 75th in the world . She has experienced most of her success in ITF tournaments, winning eleven singles tournaments and twenty doubles tournaments...
(a veteran Fed Cup player), and
Tamarine TanasugarnTamarine Tanasugarn is a professional Thai tennis player. She was born in Los Angeles, United States, and turned professional in 1994. She has been in the top 20 in both singles and doubles....
, who gained the retrospective place.
Preview
Despite debate being re-ignited about tennis's place at the Olympics, and the attestations of some players (such as
Andy RoddickAndrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
, who chose to play an American tournament in order to prepare for the
U.S. OpenThe US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...
), that the
Grand SlamsThe four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
remained the pre-eminent tennis tournaments, the 2008 Games saw the strongest field of competition since tennis's re-introduction to the Olympics in
1988The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...
. The singles competitions featured 17 of the top 20 men, and 18 of the top 20 women, with all of the top five men in attendance. This was a huge improvement on only
12 years agoThe 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
in Atlanta, when only 3 men from the world's top 10 entered. Players had been further incentivized to compete at the Olympics after the ATP and WTA began awarding ranking points as of the
2000 GamesThe Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
.
Apathy towards the Games was still present, as Roddick and 2004 Men's Singles silver-medalist
Mardy FishMardy Simpson Fish is an American professional tennis player, and Olympic silver medalist. He is a hardcourt specialist...
opted not to play in
BeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
to better prepare themselves for the U.S. Open, and Tom Tebbutt, commenting for the
Globe and Mail (Canada), said "tennis appears headed for a downer at the Olympic Games". However, many players expressed their enthusiasm for the Games, including
Roger FedererRoger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
,
Rafael NadalRafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
,
Jonas BjörkmanJonas Lars Björkman is a former World Number 4 Swedish professional tennis player. He is also a former World No. 1 in doubles. Björkman retired from professional tennis after competing at the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup Doubles championships....
,
Nicolás MassúNicolás Alejandro Massú Fried , nicknamed Vampiro , is a Chilean tennis player, a former world number nine in singles, and a two-time Olympic gold medalist...
, Andy Murray,
Jelena JankovićJelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
,
Elena DementievaElena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...
,
Alicia MolikAlicia Molik is a Australian professional female tennis player. She reached a career high singles rank of number 8 and also won a bronze medal for Australia at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Molik also reached a career high doubles ranking of number 6, and won two grand slam doubles titles, at the...
, and
VenusVenus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
and
Serena WilliamsSerena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
.
Novak DjokovićNovak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
and
Svetlana KuznetsovaSvetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
said that they felt the Olympics were of equal or even greater prestige than the Grand Slams, and Federer maintained that the Olympics were one of his priorities for the season.
Men's Singles
By winning the Gold Medal in this Beijing Olympics, Rafael Nadal cemented his place in tennis history of winning gold in his first try. In the calendar year preceding the 2008 Olympics, there was a shift at the hierarchy of men's tennis as
Rafael NadalRafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
displaced
Roger FedererRoger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
as the world number one, after his record consecutive 237-week stay at the top of the rankings. From the second round of the
2008 Hamburg MastersThe 2008 Masters Series Hamburg was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 101st edition of the Masters Series Hamburg, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Rothenbaum Tennis Center in Hamburg, Germany, from May 10 through May 18,...
to the semi-finals of the
2008 Cincinnati MastersThe 2008 Cincinnati Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts...
(the last tournament before the Games), winning the
French OpenThe 2008 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 107th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 25 through June 8, 2008....
and
WimbledonThe 2008 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 122nd edition of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam event of the year...
in between, Nadal had won 32 consecutive matches. Due to the way the rankings are accrued, Nadal became number one on August 18, the day after the Olympic tournament, although this had been confirmed earlier. Nadal was therefore considered a strong favorite, as was Federer, who, despite reaching two Grand Slam finals, had had a poor year by his standards. Other top-ten players considered to be favorites included the reigning
Australian OpenThe 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 through 27 January 2008.After twenty years of playing on...
champion,
Novak DjokovićNovak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
, Spanish world No. 4 and
2007 Tennis Masters CupThe 2007 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 38th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 33rd edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2007 ATP Tour...
finalist
David FerrerDavid Ferrer Ern is a Spanish professional tennis player who lives in Valencia, Spain who is currently no. 5 in the ATP Rankings and the second-highest ranked Spaniard behind world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. He turned professional in 2000...
,
James BlakeJames Riley Blake is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of August 2011, Blake is ranked no. 63 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances...
,
David NalbandianDavid Pablo Nalbandian is an Argentine professional tennis player and former world no. 3. He was runner-up at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships and the winner of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005.-Biography:...
,
Nikolay DavydenkoNikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko is a Ukrainian-Russian tennis player. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semifinals, which he has done on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2009 ATP...
, and British player Andy Murray, who was lauded in the British press after winning the Cincinnati tournament and reaching the semi-finals of the previous week's
Toronto MastersThe 2008 Canada Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 119th edition of the Canada Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
.
Three Chinese nationals appeared in the men's draw, but none qualified automatically, with
Sun PengSun Peng （October 19, 1983） is a male Chinese tennis player. He was the national singles champion in 2005.Peng and Zeng Shao-Xuan were the only male singles competitors for China at the 2008 Summer Olympics.- References:...
relying on the places issued by the
International Tennis FederationThe International Tennis Federation is the governing body of world tennis, made up of 205 national tennis associations.It was established as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by 12 national associations meeting at a conference in Paris, France on 1 March 1913...
(ITF), and
Yu XinyuanYu Xinyuan is a Chinese male tennis player. He competed for China at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the men's singles and in men's doubles with partner Zeng Shao-Xuan.-External links:...
and Zeng Shao-Xuan replacing withdrawn players as alternates.
Women's Singles
The women's game also underwent a period of transition in 2008. Justine Henin, the incumbent
world number one and reigning Olympic champion, retired on May 14, citing a lack of motivation for the game. Since then, three women had held the number one spot, and two,
Maria SharapovaMaria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
and
Ana IvanovićAna Ivanović is a former world no. 1 Serbian tennis player. As of November 7, 2011, she is ranked 22th on the WTA rankings. She beat Dinara Safina to win the 2008 French Open and was the runner-up in singles at the 2007 French Open and the 2008 Australian Open...
, had grappled with injury and poor form after successful first halves of the year. The pair were subsequently forced to withdraw from the Olympics. The favorites included
Jelena JankovićJelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
, who assumed the world number one ranking on August 11, the second day of the tennis tournament; Russians
Svetlana KuznetsovaSvetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
, the world number three,
Elena DementievaElena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...
, who was a silver medalist at the
2000 Summer OlympicsThe Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, and
Dinara SafinaDinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
, the
French OpenThe 2008 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 107th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 25 through June 8, 2008....
finalist who had won back-to-back tournaments in the weeks before the Olympics; and the
Williams sistersThe Williams sisters are two professional American tennis players: Venus Williams born 1980, seven-time Grand Slam title winner , and Serena Williams born 1981, thirteen-time Grand Slam title winner , both of whom were coached from an early age by their father Richard Williams...
VenusVenus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
and
SerenaSerena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
, who had strong Olympic pedigree having won the singles (Venus) and doubles in 2000, and who had recently played each other in the
WimbledonThe 2008 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 122nd edition of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam event of the year...
final.
A trio of players also represented China in the women's draw, although all three qualified automatically, unlike in the men's. They were
Li NaLi Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;...
, who was a semi-finalist at the Tier I
DohaThe 2008 Qatar Ladies Open, known as the 2008 Qatar Total Open, for sponsorship reasons, was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 8th edition of the Qatar Total Open, and was part of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
before succumbing to injury for most of the Summer;
Zheng JieZheng Jie is a Chinese professional tennis player. Her career high ranking is World No. 15 which she achieved on May 18, 2009. As of August 15, 2011, Zheng is ranked World No. 65 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles....
, who raised hopes by becoming the first Chinese player to reach the semi-finals of a Grand Slam singles tournament at Wimbledon; and
Peng ShuaiPeng Shuai is a Chinese professional female tennis player. She won a gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games, defeating Akgul Amanmuradova in the final...
.
Venue
- Olympic Green Tennis Centre
The Olympic Green Tennis Center or Beijing Olympic Green Tennis Court , is a tennis centre located in the Olympic Green. It opened on 1 October 2007...
Capacity:
- Centre Court - 10000 seats.
- Show Court 1 - 4000 seats.
- Show Court 2 - 2000 seats.
- Remaining Courts - 7 courts seating for 200 seats each.
Surface -
DecoTurfDecoTurf is a tennis hardcourt comprising layers of acrylic, rubber, silica, and other materials on top of an asphalt or concrete base. It is manufactured by Decosystems, which is a division of California Products Corporation which also manufactures Plexipave, based in Andover, Massachusetts.The...
II
Format
The tennis competition at the Olympic Games consisted of a single elimination tournament. The size of the singles draw, 64, meant that there were six rounds of competition in total, with five in the doubles owing to its smaller draw size of 32. Players reaching the semi-final were assured of an opportunity to compete for a medal, as the two losers in the semi-finals contested a
bronze medalA bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...
match.
Matches were
best-of-3 sets, except for the Men's singles and doubles finals which were
best-of-5 sets. The decisive third set had no tiebreak. With athletes needing a two game advantage to win the match, this led to one match's final set, the men's doubles semi-final between
Arnaud ClémentArnaud Clément is a professional tennis player from France. His best achievement is reaching the final of the 2001 Australian Open.-Career:Clément was born in Aix-en-Provence, and currently lives in Geneva, Switzerland...
&
Michaël LlodraMichaël Llodra is a French professional tennis player. He is a prolific doubles player with three Grand Slam championships, and has also had success in singles.-Life and career:...
and
Simon AspelinSimon Aspelin is a former professional tennis doubles player from Sweden who turned professional in 1998...
&
Thomas JohanssonKarl Thomas Conny Johansson , commonly known as Thomas Johansson, is a former Swedish professional tennis player. He is a former Australian Open singles champion and Olympic silver medalist in doubles.-Junior career:...
, extending to 19–17 in Aspelin & Johansson's favour.
Calendar
| August |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
| Morning |
10.30 |
10.30 |
10.30 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Afternoon |
17.00 |
17.00 |
17.00 |
16.00 |
16.00 |
16.00 |
16.00 |
16.00 |
| Men's Singles |
Round of 64 |
Round of 64 |
Round of 32 |
Round of 16 |
Quarterfinals |
Semifinals |
Bronze |
Final |
| Women's Singles |
Round of 64 |
Round of 64 |
Round of 32 |
Round of 16 |
Quarterfinals |
Quarterfinals |
Semifinals |
Bronze
Final |
| Men's Doubles |
Round of 32 |
Round of 32 |
Round of 16 |
Round of 16 |
Quarterfinals |
Semifinals |
Bronze
Final |
|
| Women's Doubles |
Round of 32 |
Round of 32 |
Round of 32 |
Round of 16 |
Round of 16 |
Round of 16
Quarterfinals |
Semifinals |
Bronze
Final |
Note: due to rain delays the Women's Singles schedule was pushed back a day.
Day 1
On Day 1, the conditions were at a
humidityHumidity is a term for the amount of water vapor in the air, and can refer to any one of several measurements of humidity. Formally, humid air is not "moist air" but a mixture of water vapor and other constituents of air, and humidity is defined in terms of the water content of this mixture,...
level of 89%, and ITF commentators felt that this, along with the heat and smog, would result in fatigue for some players, especially in longer matches. Play did not begin at the scheduled time of 10 a.m., and was delayed until 12.53 p.m., when number eight seed
James BlakeJames Riley Blake is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of August 2011, Blake is ranked no. 63 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances...
began his match against
Chris GuccioneChristopher "Chris" Luke Guccione , is an Australian professional tennis player from Greenvale, Victoria; his father is Italian and his mother is Australian....
on the Centre Court. The Women's Singles competition also commenced. However, play was suspended again at 4.26 a.m., and eventually cancelled for the rest of the day.
Only nine matches of the 20 scheduled matches were completed as a consequence of the rain-disrupted sessions. Blake progressed, as did fourth seeded Russian
Nikolay DavydenkoNikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko is a Ukrainian-Russian tennis player. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semifinals, which he has done on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2009 ATP...
, Chilean
Fernando González----Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi is a professional tennis player from Chile. He is known for having one of the hardest forehands on the circuit. In Spanish he is called El Bombardero de La Reina and Mano de Piedra...
, Czech
Tomáš BerdychTomáš Berdych is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. His most notable achievements are reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, and the semifinals of the 2010 French Open. He defeated the Croatian player Ivan Ljubičić in five sets to win the Paris Masters in 2005...
, and Argentine
Guillermo CañasGuillermo Ignacio Cañas , often referred to as Willy Cañas, is a retired Argentine professional tennis player. He was born in Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, and named after Argentine tennis star Guillermo Vilas. His highest singles ranking was 8th . After retirement Cañas took on coaching, he...
, who benefited from a retirement from his opponent
Frédéric NiemeyerFrédéric Niemeyer is a retired, veteran minor tour and Canadian Davis Cup tennis player who now is a Tennis Canada coach. Born in Campbellton, New Brunswick, Niemeyer hails from Deauville, Sherbrooke, Quebec...
, who was a set up, and said that he withdrew from the match in order to save himself for his doubles match with
Sydney championThe men's doubles competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics was part of the tennis program for the games, and was held at the Olympic Tennis Centre in Athens, Greece.-Medalists:-Seeds:# # # ...
Daniel NestorDaniel Mark Nestor, CM , born Danijel Nestorović September 4, 1972, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, is a Serbian-born Canadian professional tennis player from Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
(their match eventually took place the following day). Blake said that he had been inspired to victory by
fellow AmericanThe United States competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. American athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games since the 1896 Summer Olympics except the 1980 Summer Olympics, which the U.S. boycotted. The United States entered the Games as the most successful nation in...
Michael PhelpsMichael Fred Phelps is an American swimmer who has, overall, won 16 Olympic medals—six gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and eight gold at Beijing in 2008, becoming the most successful athlete at both of these Olympic Games editions...
, who won his first of eight gold medals in
swimmingSwimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics was held over a thirteen day period from August 9 to August 21, with the conventional events ending on August 17 and the new marathon 10 km events being held on August 20 and 21...
, in the 400 metre individual medley, on the same day. In the women's draw, Dane
Caroline WozniackiCaroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
, Australian
Samantha StosurSamantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
, Italian
Francesca SchiavoneFrancesca Schiavone is an Italian tennis player who turned professional in 1998. She won the 2010 French Open singles title, becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam event in singles. She was also runner-up at the 2011 French Open. As of 24 October 2011, Schiavone's ranking is World...
, and Bulgarian
Tsvetana PironkovaTsvetana Kirilova Pironkova is a female Bulgarian tennis player. She was born and lives in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Pironkova is right-handed and plays with a two-handed backhand....
all progressed.
Day 2
On Day 2, humidity levels again proved to be unfavourable for players, with some saying that it was the worst they had ever played in. Play was only mildly interrupted by rain, with three scheduled matches failing to reach their conclusion. Defending champion
Nicolás MassúNicolás Alejandro Massú Fried , nicknamed Vampiro , is a Chilean tennis player, a former world number nine in singles, and a two-time Olympic gold medalist...
defeated
Steve DarcisSteve Darcis is a male professional tennis player. He achieved his career high ranking of #44 on 12 May 2008.-2007:...
(Belgium), and world number one
Rafael NadalRafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
came through against
Potito StaracePotito Starace is an Italian professional tennis player on the ATP Tour. He achieved his career-high ranking of 27th on October 15, 2007 and prefers to play on red clay...
(Italy) in three sets, in what the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
described as a "tough" match.
Roger FedererRoger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
, still the top seed, progressed, as did other seeds such as Serb
Novak DjokovićNovak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
, Argentine
David NalbandianDavid Pablo Nalbandian is an Argentine professional tennis player and former world no. 3. He was runner-up at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships and the winner of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005.-Biography:...
, Frenchman
Gilles SimonGilles Simon is a French professional tennis player and former world no. 6. He is a nine-time winner on the ATP World Tour...
, and Swiss
Stanislas WawrinkaStanislas Wawrinka is a Swiss professional tennis player. He also holds German citizenship as his father is German. His career ranking high is no. 9, achieved on 9 June 2008. He considers clay his best surface and his backhand his best shot...
. Former world number one
Lleyton HewittLleyton Glynn Hewitt born 24 February 1981) is an Australian professional tennis player and former world no. 1.In 2000, Hewitt had won ATP titles on all three major surfaces and reached one final on carpet. By 2001, he became the youngest male ever to be ranked no. 1 at the age of 20...
came through a testing match against
Jonas BjörkmanJonas Lars Björkman is a former World Number 4 Swedish professional tennis player. He is also a former World No. 1 in doubles. Björkman retired from professional tennis after competing at the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup Doubles championships....
, 7–5, 7–6(2), and
Rafael ArevaloRafael Arévalo González is a professional tennis player from El Salvador. The majority of Arévalo's professional career has been restricted to playing on the Futures circuit, with a further 22 appearances for the El Salvador Davis Cup team; he also encountered modest success in the juniors,...
, one of the three players to be invited by the Tripartite Commission, won against
Lee Hyung-taikHyung-Taik Lee is a retired professional tennis player from South Korea. Lee's career-high ranking in singles is World No. 36, which he achieved in August 2007.-Personal life:...
, in what was his first match against a top 100 player. The highest seed to exit was Spain's
David FerrerDavid Ferrer Ern is a Spanish professional tennis player who lives in Valencia, Spain who is currently no. 5 in the ATP Rankings and the second-highest ranked Spaniard behind world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. He turned professional in 2000...
(number five). The number six seed, Britain's Andy Murray, also lost, playing against
Chinese TaipeiChinese Taipei competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where it sent 80 competitors in a record 15 sports. Since 1984, athletes from Taiwan have competed at the Olympics as "Chinese Taipei", not as the "Republic of China ", due to opposition from the People's Republic of China.According...
representative
Lu Yen-hsunLu Yen-hsun is a Taiwanese professional tennis player. He goes by the nickname Rendy. As of November 1, 2010, Lu is ranked #33 in the world and #1 in Asia. His favorite surface is hardcourt.- Junior career:...
. Along with Ferrer, number fourteen seed
Nicolás AlmagroNicolas Almagro Sanchez Rolle is a professional Spanish tennis player, ranked 10 on the ATP World Tour.-2005:...
and the unseeded
Tommy RobredoTommy Robredo Garcés is a Spanish professional tennis player. On 8 May 2006, he broke into the world's top ten for the first time. His highest singles ranking to date is No...
also exited, meaning that three of the four Spanish respresentatives in the men's singles went out.
In the women's singles,
María José Martínez SánchezMaría José Martínez Sánchez is a Spanish professional tennis player. In singles, she has won five WTA singles titles, the 2009 Copa Sony Ericsson Colsanitas, the 2009 Swedish Open, the Premier 5 event, 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, the 2011 Gastein Ladies and the 2011 Hansol Korea Open. She...
became the first player to progress on the day, knocking out
Alicia MolikAlicia Molik is a Australian professional female tennis player. She reached a career high singles rank of number 8 and also won a bronze medal for Australia at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Molik also reached a career high doubles ranking of number 6, and won two grand slam doubles titles, at the...
. Second seed
Jelena JankovićJelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
won, as did American
Serena WilliamsSerena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
, Russian
Elena DementievaElena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...
, Slovakian
Daniela HantuchováDaniela Hantuchová is a Slovak professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first Tier I tournament and ended the year in the top 10.She is currently coached by Larri Passos...
, and Frenchwoman
Alizé CornetAlizé Cornet is a French professional tennis player and the current French number three . She was born in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, and has a career-high ranking of No. 11, achieved on 16 February 2009; as of 4 July 2011 she is ranked World No. 69...
amongst others, in their first round matches. Two seeds fell, both to Chinese opponents:
Li NaLi Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;...
defeated number three seed
Svetlana KuznetsovaSvetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
(Russia), and number 11
Ágnes SzávayÁgnes Szávay is a professional tennis player from Hungary. She is the country's highest ranked tennis player. She was the WTA Newcomer of the Year in 2007. She achieved her career high ranking of World No. 13 on April 14, 2008.- Background :...
(Hungary) lost to Jie Zheng. Afterwards, Zheng, a native of
Sichuan' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
, said the courage shown by the victims of the earthquake in May 2008 had helped inspire her to victory.
The men's doubles competition also began, having originally been scheduled to start on Day 1.
Chris GuccioneChristopher "Chris" Luke Guccione , is an Australian professional tennis player from Greenvale, Victoria; his father is Italian and his mother is Australian....
and
Lleyton HewittLleyton Glynn Hewitt born 24 February 1981) is an Australian professional tennis player and former world no. 1.In 2000, Hewitt had won ATP titles on all three major surfaces and reached one final on carpet. By 2001, he became the youngest male ever to be ranked no. 1 at the age of 20...
(Australia) defeated
Agustín CalleriAgustín Calleri Shaal is a retired professional male tennis player from Argentina. His nickname is Gordo which means Fat in Spanish. He is known as a hard-hitter and he prefers playing on clay....
and
Juan MónacoJuan Mónaco , nicknamed "Pico", is a male tennis player from Argentina. He reached a career-high ranking of World No. 14 on February 4, 2008. He is sponsored by Adidas and Yonex.-Biography:...
(Argentina) 4–6, 7–6(4), 18–16. The match, which lasted three hours and 17 minutes, was the longest (in games, in a three set match) in Olympic history at 61. The previous record was held by
Todd WoodbridgeTodd Andrew Woodbridge is an Australian former tennis player. He was born in Sydney and turned professional in 1988. He is best known for his successful Doubles partnerships with Mark Woodforde and later Jonas Björkman...
and
Mark WoodfordeMark Woodforde is a former professional tennis player from Australia. He is best known as one half of "The Woodies", a doubles partnership with Todd Woodbridge....
(Australia) and
Jacco EltinghJacco Folkert Eltingh is a former professional male tennis player and former World No. 1 doubles player from the Netherlands.He is best remembered for his success in doubles with fellow countryman Paul Haarhuis...
and
Paul HaarhuisPaul Vincent Nicholas Haarhuis is a Dutch former professional tennis player. He is a former World No. 1 doubles player. He won six Grand Slam men's doubles titles, five with Jacco Eltingh and one with Yevgeny Kafelnikov.-Personal life:...
(Netherlands), who competed a 54 game match (6–2, 5–7, 18–16) at the
1996 eventThe Men's Doubles competition was part of the tennis program at the 1996 Summer Olympics.-Medalists:-Seeds:# # # # ...
. Elsewhere, defending champions Massu and Gonzalez exited,
Steve DarcisSteve Darcis is a male professional tennis player. He achieved his career high ranking of #44 on 12 May 2008.-2007:...
and
Olivier RochusOlivier Rochus is a Belgian tennis player. He was born in Namur, Belgium, and currently resides in Auvelais, Belgium.-Career:...
(Belgium) defeated
Guillermo CañasGuillermo Ignacio Cañas , often referred to as Willy Cañas, is a retired Argentine professional tennis player. He was born in Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, and named after Argentine tennis star Guillermo Vilas. His highest singles ranking was 8th . After retirement Cañas took on coaching, he...
and
David NalbandianDavid Pablo Nalbandian is an Argentine professional tennis player and former world no. 3. He was runner-up at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships and the winner of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005.-Biography:...
(Argentina) in a match that exceeded two and a half hours, and Canada's only doubles team of Nestor and Niemeyer lost to the Murray brothers of Andy and
JamieJamie Robert Murray is a British tennis player from Scotland who specialises in doubles and is Britain's number 1 doubles player. He is the older brother of Andy Murray. He won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title in 2007 with Jelena Janković. Murray had an early career partnership with Eric Butorac,...
(Great Britain). Federer and Nadal both came through, with their partners Wawrinka and Robredo, respectively.
Day 3
Federer, Nadal, and Djoković, the top three seeds respectively, all saw safe passage into the second round on Day 3. However, Federer's countryman Wawrinka exited after losing to Austrian
Jürgen MelzerJürgen Melzer is an Austrian tennis player. He reached a career-high ranking of no. 8 on 18 April 2011, and a doubles ranking of no. 6 on 13 September 2010. He is the only current player on the ATP Tour to be ranked in the top 10 in both singles and doubles. He is a left-handed tennis player, but...
, in what the ITF commentary team called a "bad loss". Notable losers included Massu, who went out to number seven seed Nalbandian; and Davydenko, the third seed, who lost to
Paul-Henri MathieuPaul-Henri Mathieu is a French tennis player.-Tennis career:Mathieu was born in Strasbourg, France. He first began playing tennis at age 3, with his older brother Pierre-Yves. Between 1997 and 2000 he trained at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida...
(France).
Gilles SimonGilles Simon is a French professional tennis player and former world no. 6. He is a nine-time winner on the ATP World Tour...
and
Gaël MonfilsGaël Sébastien Monfils is a French professional tennis player. he was the highest-ranked French tennis player, ranked no. 7 in the world ATP rankings. He was the runner-up at the Paris Masters in 2009 and 2010 and a semifinalist at the 2008 French Open.-2002:In 2002, Monfils finished 24th at the...
were two other French players to progress to the third round. The match between
Nicolas KieferNicolas Kiefer , is a former German professional tennis player. His mother, Nicole, is French. He won a silver medal in men's doubles with partner Rainer Schüttler at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens....
(Germany) and
Kevin AndersonKevin Anderson is a male South African tennis player.He became the top-ranked South African player on 10 March 2008 after making the final at the 2008 Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas...
became the longest singles match of the tournament up to that point, lasting three hours and twenty minutes, with Kiefer prevailing.
Seeds who progressed in the women's singles included Janković (Serbia), the Williams sisters (United States),
Vera ZvonarevaVera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
(Russia), and
Victoria AzarenkaVictoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
(Belarus). Number ten seed
Daniela HantuchováDaniela Hantuchová is a Slovak professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first Tier I tournament and ended the year in the top 10.She is currently coached by Larri Passos...
(Slovakia), who was being watched by her country's
head of stateA head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
,
Ivan GašparovičIvan Gašparovič is a Slovak politician and law professor who has been the President of Slovakia since 15 June 2004. He is also the first Slovak president to be re-elected.-Biography:...
, lost to rising star
Caroline WozniackiCaroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
(Denmark), and the number eight seed
Agnieszka RadwańskaAgnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
(Poland) lost to Italy's Francesca Schiavone. Number thirteen seed
Patty SchnyderPatty Schnyder is a retired Swiss professional tennis player. She played on the WTA tour from 1993 to 2011 and is a former World No. 7. She defeated several World No...
(Switzerland) also lost. One of the Chinese hopefuls, Peng, had the President of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG), Liu Qui, courtside for her match against Alizé Cornet, but she was beaten in two sets. Her compatriot, Zheng, came through another long match.
In the doubles, Bahamian
Mark KnowlesMark Knowles is a former World number 1 doubles professional male tennis player from the Bahamas, who will go down as one of the greatest athletes of his country for his longevity within his sport and charitable contributions off the court.After being awarded a scholarship to the Nick...
, a Grand Slam champion and the world number seven coming into the event, was knocked out, partnering
Devin MullingsDevin Mullins is a professional tennis player.Mullins represents the Bahamas and has appeared in 17 Davis Cup ties for his country since 2002. He has an ATP tour win–loss record of 6–8 primarily through his Davis Cup exploits...
, by the Bryan brothers (United States). Mullings came into the Olympic tournament without a doubles ranking, and with a singles ranking of 1017. Other teams progressing including
Martin DammMartin Damm was a professional tennis player from Czechia. He is 6'2" 195 lb and is best known as a doubles player . ,his highest singles ranking 42 as of August 1997...
and
Pavel VíznerPavel Vízner is a professional male tennis player from the Czech Republic. Vízner has reached the French Open final twice, having had turned professional in 1990 and achieved a career high doubles ranking of World Number 5 on September 10, 2007.- Career :While Vízner had played tournaments in 1988...
(Czech Republic), who defeated Djoković and
Nenad ZimonjićNenad Zimonjić is a professional Serbian tennis player who is currently ranked World No. 3 in men's doubles. He is the second tennis doubles player from Serbia to hold the World No.1, after Slobodan Živojinović.-Career:...
(Serbia). In the women's doubles,
Liezel HuberLiezel Huber is a professional tennis player who competes for, resides in, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On November 12, 2007,...
and
Lindsay DavenportLindsay Ann Davenport is a former World No. 1 American professional tennis player. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked her as the 29th-best player of the preceding forty years...
(United States), both former Grand Slam doubles champions, came through. The other American team in the draw, the Williams sisters, came through a tough match against the Czech team of
Iveta BenešováIveta Benešová is a professional tennis player. She began playing tennis at age of 7 and turned professional in 1998 in Prague. She has won two WTA Tour events and one Grand Slam in mixed doubles partnering with Jürgen Melzer at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships.-2006–2008:In the 2006 Australian...
and
Nicole VaidišováNicole Vaidišová is a retired Czech tennis player.Vaidišová was an Australian Open and French Open semifinalist and also reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Vaidišová started playing tennis when she was six years old, enrolling to train at Nick Bollettieri's tennis academy in Bradenton,...
, as did Zheng and Yan against the Slovak team of Hantuchová and
Janette HusárováJanette Husárová is a professional female tennis player from Slovakia. She is probably best remembered for winning the WTA Tour Championships women's doubles title in 2002 partenering Russian Elena Dementieva...
. The Russian team of
Dinara SafinaDinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
and
Svetlana KuznetsovaSvetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
, which combined two top ten singles players, progressed too.
Medal table
RussiaRussia competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, People's Republic of China, represented by the Russian Olympic Committee. Russia competed in all sports except baseball, football, field hockey, softball and taekwondo.-Medalists:...
, the country that finished atop the medal table, won all three of its medals in the women's singles. This made them the first nation to win all three medals in an
Olympic tennis competitionTennis was part of the Summer Olympic Games program from the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics, but was dropped after the 1924 Summer Olympics...
since Great Britain in 1908.
Rafael NadalRafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
's gold for
SpainSpain competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China with 286 athletes.-Medalists:- Archery:Spain sent one archer to the Olympics...
made him the first Spanish tennis player to win a gold medal at the Olympics, and Nadal was also the first player from within the men's top five ranking to win in Olympic competition.
SerbiaSerbia competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. The country returned under the name Serbia after 96 years, previously competing under the names Yugoslavia , Independent Olympic Participants , Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro .The flag on the opening ceremony...
, competing at an independent NOC for the second time, won its first tennis medal; and the
United StatesThe United States competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. American athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games since the 1896 Summer Olympics except the 1980 Summer Olympics, which the U.S. boycotted. The United States entered the Games as the most successful nation in...
continued to be prolific in the women's doubles, having won every competition (including this one) since 1988, bar 2004.
Fernando González----Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi is a professional tennis player from Chile. He is known for having one of the hardest forehands on the circuit. In Spanish he is called El Bombardero de La Reina and Mano de Piedra...
, who won the silver medal in the Men's Singles, became the first tennis player since
Charles WinslowCharles Lyndhurst Winslow was a three time Olympic tennis medalist from South Africa. He won two golden medals: men's singles and doubles at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. Eight years, in Antwerp, later he won a bronze medal in the men's singles event.-External links:*...
(at
Stockholm 1912The 1912 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 5 May and 27 July 1912. Twenty-eight nations and 2,407 competitors, including 48 women, competed in 102 events in 14 sports...
and
Antwerp 1920The 1920 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium....
) to win consecutive Olympic medals, having won gold (Doubles) and bronze (Singles) in 2004. In the Men's Doubles,
SwitzerlandSwitzerland competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. This is a list of all of the Swiss athletes who have qualified for the Olympics and have been nominated by Swiss Olympic Association.-Medalists:- Archery:...
won its first medal in the event, and
SwedenSweden competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. This is a list of all of the Swedish athletes who have qualified for the Olympics.-Medalists:- Archery:Men-Men's team:-Women's team:- Badminton :...
and the US returned to the podium for the first time since 1988.
Retrieved from Beijing Olympics 2008 official website.
| 1 |
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1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
| 2 |
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1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
| 3 |
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1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
| 4 |
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1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| 5 |
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0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| 7 |
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0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Total |
4 |
4 |
4 |
12 |
Events
| Men's Singles The Men's Singles tennis competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was held from August 10 to August 17 at the Olympic Green Tennis Centre. The DecoTurf surface rendered the event a hardcourt competition. Matches were in best-of-3 sets, except for the final which was in best-of-5 sets...
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| Men's Doubles The Men's Doubles tennis competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was held from August 10 to August 16 at the Olympic Green Tennis Centre. The DecoTurf surface rendered the event a hardcourt tournament. Matches were best-of-3 sets, except for the final which was best-of-5 sets...
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| Women's Singles The Women's Singles tennis competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was held from August 10 to August 17 at the Olympic Green Tennis Centre...
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| Women's Doubles The women's doubles tennis competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was held from 10 August to 17 August at the Olympic Green Tennis Centre. The DecoTurf surface rendered the event a hardcourt tournament....
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Ranking points
Rankings points determine the position of a player in the
ATPThe 'Tennis men', as defined by the Association of Tennis Professionals , are the "objective merit-based method used for determining qualification for entry and seeding in all tournaments for both singles and doubles, except as modified for the ARAG ATP World Tour Team Championship and Barclays ATP...
(men's) and WTA (women's) rankings, which are based on players' performances in the previous 52-weeks. For the Olympics, the men's player who won received 400 ranking points—put in perspective, this was 100 more than a win at the most prestigious International Series Gold tournaments, 100 less than a
Masters SeriesThe ATP World Tour Masters 1000 is a series of nine tennis tournaments that are part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America and Asia...
win, and 1600 less than a triumph at one of the four
Grand SlamThe four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
tournaments.
| | | Men's ATP ranking points | | Women's WTA ranking points |
| Gold Medal |
400 |
353 |
| Silver Medal |
280 |
245 |
| Bronze Medal |
205 |
175 |
| Loser 3rd/4th |
155 |
135 |
| Quarterfinals |
100 |
90 |
| Round of 16 |
50 |
48 |
| Round of 32 |
25 |
28 |
| 1st Round |
5 |
1 |
External links