“Is Tennis In the Olympics?” and Other Olympic Tennis Questions

40 years of tennis at the Summer Olympics and we still can’t get enough! The 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo will be the 40th year that Tennis will make an appearance in the Olympic games without a hiatus, and we’re so excited to welcome it back. We’re huge tennis fans and are excited to see this year’s Games.

The Olympics kick off on July 23, and the tennis competition runs from the 24th of July to the 1st of August.

So, is tennis in the Olympics?

Yes! Tennis is a staple sport of the modern Olympics. This tournament attracts the world’s top stars, with medallists including Venus and Serena, Andy Murray, and Nadal. The Williams sisters have won a total of eight Olympic gold medals - talk about squad goals!

The history of tennis in the Olympics

Tennis first appeared at the Olympics in 1896, but was dropped after Paris in 1924, returning 64 years later. 

The United States holds the most gold medals, ranking second to Great Britain in the total number of medals acquired.

* Tennis At The Olympics Wikipedia

In 2016, the last winners for tennis were Monica Puig from Puerto Rico, and Andy Murray from the UK. There’s room for big movement from the Americans this go around, and we’re excited to see what happens next!

What’s the difference between Olympic tennis and normal tennis?

At Tokyo 2021, the tennis tournament will be a knockout, with men’s and women’s singles and doubles competitions. The matches will be played on a hard court, which is pretty usual for the Olympic Games, unless in Paris or Wimbledon (clay and grass courts respectively)

Many of the world’s leading tennis players are heading to Tokyo to play in the singles events. 56 athletes will qualify based on their world ranking, and their representation in national level events. Each country, however, may only send six players total, including 4 players for the singles competitions.

Which American’s have qualified for Tokyo?

Team USA has released the names of American’s they want you to watch this season, and we know some of these women, but we’re going to give you the rundown:

Sloane Stephens from Florida - 2017 US Open Champion, World rank number 3, and has been in the finals of every grand slam event she’s ever competed in. Stephens was a 2016 Olympian.

Serena Williams from Florida - 23 Grand Slam Singles titles, 14 Grand Slam Doubles titles, 73 WTA singles titles, Olympic gold medallist in singles and doubles 3 times over. S. Williams is largely regarded as the best tennis player of all time.

Madison Keys from Florida - 2017 US Open finalist, World rank number 7, and has five career WTA titles, reaching the semifinals at the Rio games in 2016. Keys was a 2016 Olympian.

Cori (Coco) Gauff from Florida - The youngest women’s tennis Olympian this year at 16 years old, Gauff made headlines in 2019 by being the youngest ever qualifier and reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon, being the youngest to do so at Wimbledon since 1991. She defeated Venus Williams in the first round and has continued her momentum into 2020, where she beat reigning Australian Open champ, Naomi Osaka, and Venus Williams to lose to Sofia Kenin - the eventual winner. Gauff is one to watch in our book!

Amanda Anisimova from Florida - former US Open Junior champion, Anisimova was the youngest woman to reach a Grand Slam semifinal since Venus Williams in 1997. Winning her first WTA title at 17 years, 222 days old, made her the youngest American to win a title since Serena in 1999.

How to watch with friends

It’s going to be a great tennis tournament this year, and you wont want to miss out. So get your friends together and host a tennis watching party! NBC is the best place to watch the Olympics with friends! Also available are NBC’s streaming options with Peacock and NBC Sports. Get your friends together in your favorite Jofit tennis outfit for a fun girls night(s) with plenty to cheer for. Go team USA!

* Image from Olympics.com