Tennis at the Olympic Games: The 7 greatest moments – ranked!

Oli Dickson Jefford 23 Jul 2024 2:47 PM

Andy Murray and Steffi Graf with their Olympic titles.

Andy Murray and Steffi Graf have both delivered memorable Olympic moments.

Tennis may not be the marquee sport at the Olympic Games. but it is undoubtedly an event to watch.

Since the sport returned to the Olympics in 1988 there have been some truly memorable triumphs, with some greats of the game striking gold – though there have also been a fair few surprises.

Here, we rank seven of the best Olympic tennis moments.

7) Davenport and Agassi double

Only once have the men’s and women’s singles winners come from the same country – and that happened for America at home at the Atlanta 1996 Games.

In what proved to be her breakout event, future world No 1 and major winner Lindsay Davenport claimed the women’s singles title, downing Arantxa Sanchez Vicario.

While in the men’s singles, it was also the USA versus Spain – with Andre Agassi breezing past Sergi Bruguera for his sole Olympic gold.

6) Capriati stuns Graf

A three-time major winner and world No 1, Jennifer Capriati is by no means a surprise Olympic champion – but the manner in which she won gold was extraordinary.

The US star was just 16 years old at the Barcelona 1992 Games, but shocked home favourite and second seed Sanchez Vicario to reach the final.

And there she stunned reigning champion and overwhelming favourite Steffi Graf, winning in three sets to claim gold.

5) Massu’s epic double

To this day, Chile’s Nicolas Massu remains the only man to win the singles and doubles gold medals at the same Olympic Games.

Alongside compatriot Fernando Gonzalez, the former world No 9 downed Nicolas Kiefer and Rainer Schuttler to win the doubles title in Athens.

That was then followed by a sensational singles gold, the Chilean coming from two sets to one down against Mardy Fish in the final.

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4) Serena sweeps

Heading into London 2012, singles gold was the only significant title Serena Williams was yet to win – but that changed with a dominant run at Wimbledon.

The US star did not drop more than three games in a set on her way to gold and eventually thumped Maria Sharapova in the final.

That was accompanied by women’s doubles gold alongside sister Venus, the third time the sisters had won that event.

3) Surprise package Puig

Few runs have captivated the tennis world quite like Puig’s at Rio 2016, with the unheralded star winning Puerto Rico’s first Olympic title eight years ago.

Her run to the final was epic, knocking out the likes of Garbine Muguruza and Petra Kvitova to reach the gold medal match.

There, she stunned second seed and reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber in three sets for the title.

2) Murray goes back-to-back

In the 36 years that tennis has been back in the Olympics, the retiring Andy Murray remains the only player to successfully defend a singles title.

At his home Olympics in London, the Brit downed Novak Djokovic in the semi-final before an emphatic win versus Roger Federer in the final.

That was then followed by another epic triumph in Rio, the three-time major winner edging past Juan Martin del Potro for gold.

1) Graf’s Golden Slam

Picking a No 1 was easy for this list, with Steffi Graf’s triumph at Seoul 1988 the icing on the cake of arguably the greatest season in tennis history.

The 19-year-old had already made history that season, completing the Calendar Grand Slam – remaining the last player, male or female, to do so.

But an Olympic title made it the most dominant season on record, the German beating Gabriela Sabatini in the final to write her name in the record books.