Serving Aces: Women’s Olympic Lawn Tennis
The history, big names and successes of one of the most loved sports
Unknown to most, tennis on the Olympic level has had a fascinating history with quite a few ups and downs. It has even been more of a dilemma for women in the sport trying to play on the highest stage possible. In this article, we will first look at the history of tennis in the Olympics in general, then dive into the world of women’s tennis in the Olympics. This includes the history of the first matchups in women’s tennis in the Olympics and some of the most popular matches that have ever taken place on this high of a competitive level. Whether you are very knowledgeable about women’s tennis in the Olympics or you are new to the idea, this article will provide you with an outstanding depth of knowledge that will be hard to come by anywhere else.
The history of tennis goes way back to the eleventh century, far before the modern-day Olympics were created. It was not a part of the original Roman or Greek Olympics because the sport was created far too late, even though now the eleventh century is considered to be a long, long time ago. It had always been a game amongst professionals when it began in France played in courtyards across the land, although they used their hands to hit the ball rather than racquets. It was not until the late nineteenth century where tennis began to gain widespread popularity, this time in England rather than France. Croquet clubs were quick to recognise this rise in popularity and started to create places for tennis to be played at their clubs. It was at that time that our idea of modern-day tennis came to be.
You must keep in mind that tennis was only becoming popular in England during this time, not necessarily amongst the entire world. It was not until 1913 that tennis began to gain traction on the international level. Many different countries had come up with their versions of the sport, which helped it become famous worldwide, but it also meant that there were no standardised rules for the game. People started to take the sport so seriously that France decided to host an international tennis conference in Paris for all the countries in the world to attend and agree upon one set of rules. Twelve nations agreed and arrived for the conference. This became the birth of the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF), which created the official rules for the sport on an international level. What makes this timeline even more interesting is that tennis had been part of the Olympics since 1900. This was made possible because the hosts of these Olympics were Paris, London, and Stockholm before 1913. These host nations used their own set of rules that were official to them before the conference meeting.
What has made tennis have a fascinating Olympic history for both men and women was that tennis was not considered an Olympic sport from 1924 until 1988. It was a part of the Olympics before 1924, in 1896 (the first modern-day Olympic games) to 1924. However, women were not allowed to participate in the first Olympic games, so their tennis debut was made four years later, in 1900. This absence from the Olympics was a problem caused by the ILTF that we discussed above. The problem was that the ILTF could not agree with the IOC about an amateur player’s definition. Since all athletes in the Olympics were required to be amateurs for quite some time, tennis was not an Olympic sport due to this discrepancy. Of course, it is easy to see that the IOC has the final say when it comes to the Olympics, and they have the upper hand in the argument. It is indeed unfortunate that this occurred, but of course, it is not possible to go back in time and change any of the events that happened. We are thankful that tennis is a part of the Olympics today and that it returned in 1988.
As mentioned previously, women’s Olympic history in tennis began in 1900. At that time, they only participated in women’s singles and mixed doubles, but it was better than not competing at all. There were also events for indoor and outdoor tennis for the two Olympic games, which gave women double the opportunity to compete. That has since been removed from the Olympics to provide a complete and level playing field, whether indoors or outdoors. Olympic tennis today is strictly played on outdoor courts, with the surface typically being a hard court to create an even environment for all players. In addition to mixed doubles, women’s doubles first became a part of the Olympics in 1912 and continued until tennis was completely removed from the Olympics following 1924. Doubles and singles have since been played in the Olympics every year since tennis was reinstated, but recently, mixed doubles made a return in 2012.
The first women’s tennis event in the Olympics took place in 1900 in Paris. There were only a few competitors at the time: Hedwig Rosenbaum from former Czechoslovakia, Marion Jones from the United States, Helene Prevost from France, and Charlotte Cooper from Great Britain, who was the gold medallist, and she is the only woman on the official Olympics website with a picture provided. Charlotte Cooper was a great tennis player both before and after these Olympics occurred. She won the world-renowned Wimbledon in 1895 for the first time in her career, and even after the Olympics, she won Wimbledon four more times, with the last occurring in 1908. This makes Cooper the oldest female ever to win the Wimbledon at the age of thirty-seven, nearly thirty-eight, and she still holds this record to this day. What made her game stand out in the Olympics was that she was one of the few females who served overhand, which is now popular today. However, her serves and overall aggressive style of play made it a tough time for her opponents. She eventually faced Helen Prevost in the singles finals by a 6–1, 6–4. Not only did she beat Prevost in the singles finals, but she also won the gold in the doubles finals against Prevost yet again. This makes Charlotte Cooper the first female to win the gold medal in a singles event and the first female to win a gold in the doubles event.
When tennis returned to the Olympics officially in 1988, there was a new female on top of the world, none other than Steffi Graf. Growing up in Germany, she played tennis all her life and was quite dominant in the sport. The Olympics held an unofficial women’s tennis event in 1984, known as a “demonstration tournament.” Either way, it was a good step towards fully incorporating women’s tennis back into the 1988 Olympics. We mention this “demonstration tournament” because Steffi Graf participated in the first Olympic event. She was only fifteen years old at the time when she played in this tournament! Although she did not let her young age stop her from participating, it is a good thing she played because she won the entire tournament! Imagine a fifteen-year-old going out and winning an Olympic event today — that would be underheard of! Of course, this did not mean she got a gold medal since it was not an official Olympic event, but it certainly set high hopes for Graf in the future.
Leading up to the Olympics in 1988, when tennis was making its Olympic debut again, Graf was on fire in the professional ranks. She was ranked number one in the world, and rightfully so. During 1988, she won the Wimbledon, the French Open, and the Australian Open and won the US Open just a week before the Olympic Games began. This was undoubtedly a feat within itself, known as a Grand Slam amongst professional tennis players, and she was only the fifth player in history to do so. Everyone knew that she was the woman to watch out for at the Olympics, coming into the games with a thirty-five-match win streak, another crazy number. Well, she ended up going all the way and winning the gold medal at the Olympics that year, which is now known as a “Golden Slam,” and she was the last woman to achieve this feat. Keep in mind that that record holds to this day over thirty years later. From the time that she was fifteen, she dominated tennis on a professional and Olympic level. This would be her only gold medal, but later on, she won a silver and bronze medal in the following two Olympics. She certainly set the bar high for women’s tennis at the Olympics and made everyone happy that tennis had officially made its return.
One of the things that make women’s tennis a great sport at the Olympics, and really tennis as a whole, is that anyone can win it at any given year. Unlike dynasties like Usain Bolt and the United States men’s Olympic basketball team, tennis is a flip of a coin every single year. No single woman has won back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the women’s singles event in the modern-day Olympics. At the same time, there has been no back-to-back country that has had the women gold medallists in the singles category since the late 1990s. There is a catch if you look at the women’s doubles rankings because the Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, have won the doubles competition many times. They have won three gold medals as a team, including back-to-back gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. Of course, it is challenging to accomplish this feat due to everyone competing for the title of being the best in the world. Despite this level of difficulty, the Williams sisters have been able to defeat the best players in the world on multiple occasions, so much so that it is almost expected at this point.
When it comes to the most tennis Olympic medals in history, it is neck and neck between the United States and Great Britain. Great Britain technically has the lead for the most medals; however, the United States holds the title for the most gold medals from any single country. This is both men and women’s tennis combined, but it is an exciting statistic nonetheless. Although if you narrow it down to the second time that tennis was allowed in the Olympics, the United States won this medal competition by a landslide. Under these constraints, Great Britain only has four total metals and two gold medals, showing they have not been as dominant in recent times.
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