The 8 tennis players to win Olympic gold but not a Grand Slam title – as Zheng Qinwen claims biggest victory
For the greatest in the game, an Olympic Games gold medal is a must-have for their trophy cabinet.
And some of the very best to pick up a racket have claimed Olympic glory, with the likes of Steffi Graf, Venus and Serena Williams, and Rafael Nadal all gold medallists.
However, since the sport was reintroduced in 1988, there have been a few surprise winners – and for some, Olympic gold has been the biggest success of their careers.
We take you through the eight Olympic singles champions who struck gold but have been unable to win a Grand Slam title – with Zheng Qinwen joining the list.
1988: Miroslav Mecir
The first men’s singles gold medallist of the modern era, Mecir’s achievement at the 1988 Games in Seoul is largely forgotten due to the ‘Golden Slam’ Graf completed that summer.
The Czech star was the third seed in Seoul and defeated No 1 seed Stefan Edberg in the semi-final, before overcoming No 2 seed Tim Mayotte in four sets to take home the gold medal.
Mecir was one of the players on this list who did come close to major glory, reaching the 1986 US Open final and 1989 Australian Open final – losing both matches to compatriot Ivan Lendl.
The Czech won 11 ATP singles titles and reached a career high of world No 4 in February 1988.
1992: Marc Rosset
One of the more surprising champions in Olympic history, Swiss star Rosset struck gold at the 1992 Games in Barcelona – undoubtedly the highlight of his singles career.
Unseeded in Barcelona, he stunned top seed and world No 1 Jim Courier in straight sets in the third round, and would then beat fourth seed Goran Ivanisevic in the semi-final.
That set up a final against another surprise figure in home favourite Jordi Arrese, and Rosset edged his way to the title in an enthralling five-set final.
Rosset reached a career-high of ninth in the ATP Rankings and won 15 career singles titles, his best Slam run being a semi-final showing in 1996.
2004: Nicolas Massu
Outside of Serena and Venus Williams, Chilean star Massu is the only player in history to claim singles and doubles gold at the same Olympic Games – doing so at Athens in 2004.
Massu was the 10th seed in the singles draw two decades ago, and beat third seed Carlos Moya in the last eight, before downing Taylor Dent in the last four.
That set up a final against Mardy Fish and he would prevail in five sets to take home the gold medal, winning the doubles alongside Fernando Gonzalez.
Massu reached a career-high of ninth and won six ATP singles titles, though never reached a Grand Slam singles quarter-final.
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2008: Elena Dementieva
One of the best WTA players never to win a Grand Slam title, the highlight of Dementieva’s career came at the Beijing 2008 games.
The Russian came in as the fifth seed and a former medallist, taking home the silver medal from the Sydney 2000 Games eight years prior.
After stunning Serena Williams in the quarter-final, she downed compatriot Vera Zvonareva to reach her second Olympic final.
There, she beat future world No 1 and fellow Russian Dinara Safina for gold, with Zvonareva sealing a Russian clean sweep by taking home bronze.
A former world No 3, Dementieva was runner-up at Roland Garros and the US Open in 2004.
2016: Monica Puig
The biggest shock in Olympic tennis history, the unheralded Puig claimed Puerto Rico’s first-ever gold medal with her astonishing triumph at Rio 2016.
She had only just scraped into the main draw but went on an incredible run to reach the final and guarantee a medal, beating the likes of Garbine Muguruza and Petra Kvitova.
And in the final, she shocked reigning Australian Open champion – and eventual US Open winner – Angelique Kerber in three sets.
That was the second and final WTA singles title that she would win, and the former world No 27 officially called time on her career in 2022 after a series of injuries.
2020: Alexander Zverev and Belinda Bencic
The singles gold medallists in Tokyo three years ago, neither Zverev nor Bencic are yet to take the next big step and win a major.
Of the two Zverev has come closest losing the 2020 US Open final, and the French Open final last month.
The most prestigious title of the German’s career came in Tokyo, where he downed Novak Djokovic in the last four before breezing past Karen Khachanov in the final – and he will be back to defend his title this summer.
Bencic, meanwhile, is currently on maternity leave after welcoming her first child so won’t be in Paris, but will have fond memories of three summers ago.
The ninth seed battled past Elena Rybakina in a three-set semi-final, before winning in three sets again to beat Marketa Vondrousova to the gold medal.
She also medalled in the women’s doubles, winning silver alongside Viktorija Golubic.
2024: Zheng Qinwen
Qinwen made history in Paris, becoming the first Chinese player to win a singles medal – and not just any medal.
After battling past Emma Navarro and Angelique Kerber in three-set epics, she then stunned heavy favourite Iga Swiatek in the last four.
The sixth seed then delivered a dominant performance to beat Donna Vekic in the final.
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