| Tennis at the 2016 Summer Olympics | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Date | 6–14 August 2016 | |||
| Edition | 17th | |||
| Surface | Hard (GreenSet Cushion)[1] | |||
| Location | Olympic Tennis Centre | |||
| Champions | ||||
| Men's singles | ||||
 Andy Murray (GBR) | ||||
| Women's singles | ||||
 Monica Puig (PUR) | ||||
| Men's doubles | ||||
 Marc López &Rafael Nadal (ESP) | ||||
| Women's doubles | ||||
 Ekaterina Makarova &Elena Vesnina (RUS) | ||||
| Mixed doubles | ||||
 Bethanie Mattek-Sands &Jack Sock (USA) | ||||
| ||||
Thetennis tournament at the2016 Summer Olympics was held at theOlympic Tennis Centre from 6 to 14 August.[2] The competition was played on a fasthardcourt surface used in numerous North American tournaments that aims to minimize disruption for players.[3]
Initially a total of 172 players were expected to compete in five events: singles and doubles for both men and women and the return of the mixed doubles for the second consecutive time. However, eventually 105 male and 94 female players were granted places in the draws. The Olympic tennis events were run and organized by theBrazilian Olympic Committee (COB) and theInternational Tennis Federation (ITF), and were part of theAssociation of Tennis Professionals (ATP) andWomen's Tennis Association (WTA) tours.
The 2016 Olympic tournament was the fifteenth edition of tennis at the Olympics (excluding the two Olympics, 1968 and 1984, when tennis was a demonstration event), and the eighth since 1988, when the sport was officially brought back into the Games. Unlike previous editions of the Olympic event, it was decided that the Olympic tournaments would not offer ATP and WTA ranking points for the players.
Serena Williams was the defending champion in thewomen's singles, but she lost toElina Svitolina in the third round.[4] Unseeded Puerto RicanMonica Puig won the gold medal, defeatingGermany's world number twoAngelique Kerber in the final, 6–4, 4–6,6–1.[5] This markedPuerto Rico's first ever Olympic gold medal and made Puig her country's first ever female medalist.
In themen's singles, British flagbearerAndy Murray was the defending champion from theLondon tournament atWimbledon, whileNovak Djokovic was the number one seed and aiming to complete theCareer Golden Slam. However, he was defeated in the first round byArgentina'sJuan Martín del Potro.[6] Murray defended his title, defeating del Potro in the final, 7–5, 4–6, 6–2, 7–5.[7] With the victory, Murray became the first player, male or female, to win singles gold at two consecutive Olympics and the first player to defend an Olympic title sinceSerena and Venus Willams won the women's doubles title inBeijing andLondon. This, combined with a second Wimbledon title, becoming the first-ever three-timeBBC Sports Personality of the Year and ending the year as the #1-ranked player by the ATP after having led Great Britain to their firstDavis Cup since 1936 in 2015, contributed to his being knighted in the New Year's Honours List.[8]
Serena and Venus Williams were the two-time defending champions and number one seeds in thewomen's doubles, but they lost in the first round to Czech pairingLucie Šafářová andBarbora Strýcová. The defeat ended the sisters' 15 match winning streak in women's doubles at the Olympics, and also marked their first loss together in Olympic competition.[9] Russian duoEkaterina Makarova andElena Vesnina won the gold medal, defeatingTimea Bacsinszky andMartina Hingis in the final, 6–4, 6–4.[10] Martina Hingis had been attempting to become just the fifth woman to complete theCareer Golden Slam in doubles.
In themen's doubles,Bob and Mike Bryan were the defending champions, but they withdrew before the competition as a result of health concerns.[11] French duoPierre-Hugues Herbert andNicolas Mahut were the number one seeds, but lost in the first round toJuan Sebastian Cabal andRobert Farah from Colombia. SpaniardsMarc López andRafael Nadal won the gold medal, defeating Romanian duoFlorin Mergea andHoria Tecău in the final, 6–2, 3–6, 6–4.[12]
Victoria Azarenka andMax Mirnyi were the defending champions in themixed doubles tournament, but they were not able to defend their title as a result of Azarenka's withdrawal due to pregnancy.[13] American pairBethanie Mattek-Sands andJack Sock won the gold medal, defeating their compatriotsVenus Williams andRajeev Ram in the final, 6–7(3–7), 6–1, [10–7].
| Rank | NOC | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States (USA) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Great Britain (GBR) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Puerto Rico (PUR) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Russia (RUS) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Spain (ESP) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 6 |  Argentina (ARG) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Germany (GER) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Romania (ROU) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Switzerland (SUI) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 10 |  Czech Republic (CZE) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 11 |  Japan (JPN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (11 entries) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 15 | |
For the singles competitions, the top 56 players in the world rankings on 6 June 2016 of the WTA and ATP tours are qualified for the Olympics. However, entry has been limited to four players from a country. This means that players who are ranked in the top 56 but represent the NOCs with four higher-ranked players already participating do not qualify, allowing players who are ranked outside of the top 56 but from countries with fewer than four players already qualified to compete. Of the remaining eight slots, six of them will be determined by the ITF's Olympic Committee, taking into account ranking and spread of nations represented, while the final two slots are awarded by the IOC to players from small nations.[14][15]
In the doubles competitions, 24 teams are automatically qualified for the Games based on the rankings to be published on 6 June 2016, subject to a maximum of two teams per NOC. Players in the top ten of the doubles rankings could reserve a place, provided they had a partner to compete with. Meanwhile, the remaining eight teams were decided by the ITF Olympic Committee.[14][15]
A player could only participate if he or she was available to be drafted to represent the player's country inDavis Cup orFed Cup for two of the following years: 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016, with one of the years being either 2015 or 2016.
The tennis competition at the Olympic Games consisted of asingle 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, and 4 for mixed with its draw size only being 16. Players reaching the semifinal were assured of an opportunity to compete for a medal, with the two losing semifinalists contesting abronze medal match.
All matches were the best of three sets, except for the men's singles final which was the best of five sets. Thetie break operated in every set, including the final one (a first for the Olympics). In the mixed doubles the third set was played as a match tie-break (10 points).[2]
| Date | 6 August | 7 August | 8 August | 9 August | 10 August | 11 August | 12 August | 13 August | 14 August |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Saturday | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Start time | 11:00 | 11:00 | 11:00 | 11:00 | — | 11:00 | 12:00 | 12:00 | 12:00 |
| Men's singles | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | play cancelled due to rain[16] | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Bronze & final | ||
| Women's singles | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Bronze & final | — | |||
| Men's doubles | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Bronze & final | — | — | ||
| Women's doubles | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Bronze | Final | ||||
| Mixed doubles | — | — | — | — | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Bronze & final | |
The following players received an ITF invitation:
Georgia Japan Japan
Slovakia
Italy
MoldovaThe following players received a Tripartite Commission invitation:
The following players were originally in the entry list and supposed to be seeded but withdrew prior to the event:
Roger Federer (SUI) – Knee injury Stan Wawrinka (SUI) – Back injury
Milos Raonic (CAN) – Anxiety over Zika virus situation Tomáš Berdych (CZE) – Anxiety over Zika virus situation
Richard Gasquet (FRA) – Back injuryThe following players received an ITF invitation:
Colombia
Slovenia
Poland
China
Brazil
TunisiaThe following players received a Tripartite Commission invitation:
The following players were originally in the entry list and supposed to be seeded but withdrew prior to the event:
Simona Halep (ROU) – Health concerns
Victoria Azarenka (BLR) – Pregnancy Belinda Bencic (SUI) – Wrist injury Karolína Plíšková (CZE) – Health concerns Dominika Cibulková (SVK) – Leg injury| Seed | Rank | Team | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Pierre-Hugues Herbert &Nicolas Mahut France | First round, lost toJuan Sebastian Cabal &Robert Farah Colombia |
| 2 | 6 | Andy Murray &Jamie Murray Great Britain | First round, lost toThomaz Bellucci &André Sá Brazil |
| 3 | 11 | Marcelo Melo &Bruno Soares Brazil | Quarterfinal, lost toFlorin Mergea &Horia Tecău Romania |
| 4 | 20 | Gael Monfils &Jo-Wilfried Tsonga France | First round, lost toBrian Baker &Rajeev Ram United States |
| 5 | 24 | Florin Mergea &Horia Tecău Romania | Lost Gold medal match toMarc López &Rafael Nadal Spain |
| 6 | 26 | Marc López &Rafael Nadal Spain | Won Gold medal match againstFlorin Mergea &Horia Tecău Romania |
| 7 | 27 | Daniel Nestor &Vasek Pospisil Canada | Lost Bronze medal match toSteve Johnson &Jack Sock United States |
| 8 | 28 | Roberto Bautista Agut &David Ferrer Spain | Quarterfinal, lost toSteve Johnson &Jack Sock United States |
The following players received an ITF invitation:
Czech Republic
New Zealand Brazil
Chile Slovakia
Ukraine
Mexico
Thailand| Seed | Rank | Team | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Serena Williams &Venus Williams United States | First round, lost toLucie Šafářová &Barbora Strýcová Czech Republic |
| 2 | 7 | Caroline Garcia &Kristina Mladenovic France | First round, lost toMisaki Doi &Eri Hozumi Japan |
| 3 | 12 | Chan Yung-jan &Chan Hao-ching Chinese Taipei | Quarterfinal, lost toMartina Hingis &Timea Bacsinszky Switzerland |
| 4 | 16 | Garbiñe Muguruza &Carla Suárez Navarro Spain | Quarterfinal, lost toElena Vesnina &Ekaterina Makarova Russia |
| 5 | 16 | Martina Hingis &Timea Bacsinszky Switzerland | Lost Gold medal match toElena Vesnina &Ekaterina Makarova Russia |
| 6 | 20 | Lucie Hradecká &Andrea Hlaváčková Czech Republic | Lost Bronze medal match toLucie Šafářová &Barbora Strýcová Czech Republic |
| 7 | 22 | Elena Vesnina &Ekaterina Makarova Russia | Won Gold medal match againstMartina Hingis &Timea Bacsinszky Switzerland |
| 8 | 32 | Sara Errani &Roberta Vinci Italy | Quarterfinal, lost toLucie Šafářová &Barbora Strýcová Czech Republic |
The following players received an ITF invitation:
Canada Japan Ukraine Romania
Hungary China Brazil Poland| Seed | Rank | Team | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Caroline Garcia &Nicolas Mahut France | First round, lost toTeliana Pereira &Marcelo Melo Brazil |
| 2 | 6 | Kristina Mladenovic &Pierre-Hugues Herbert France | First round, lost toRoberta Vinci &Fabio Fognini Italy |
| 3 | 9 | Garbiñe Muguruza &Rafael Nadal Spain | First round, withdrew |
| 4 | 16 | Sania Mirza &Rohan Bopanna India | Lost Bronze medal match toLucie Hradecká &Radek Štěpánek Czech Republic |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
