Do you know? Tennis, the sport that has taken the world by storm, was once not an Olympic sport! Doesn't that seem incredible? Today, we're going to unravel the mystery and see why tennis didn't make it to the Olympics.
In fact, tennis was already an official sport at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, including men's singles and doubles. However, the tournament was cancelled at the 1928 Olympics due to disagreements between the International Olympic Committee and the International Tennis Federation over the issue of "amateur athletes".
This cancellation has lasted for 60 years! It wasn't until Los Angeles 1984 that tennis was re-added to the Olympic sport, and it officially returned to competition at Seoul 1988.
Today, tennis has four events at the Olympic Games: men's singles, men's doubles, women's singles and women's doubles.
Although tennis has regained its status as an official sport at the Olympics, there are still some reasons why tennis is less influential in the Olympics than some other sports. The main reasons include:
The issue of prize money: There is no prize money in the Olympics, and professional tennis players need to rely on the prize money to maintain training and competition. In contrast, the four major tennis tournaments, the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open, have higher prize money, attracting more high-level players.
Venue issues : Olympic tennis matches are usually played on clay courts, and many pros are more comfortable with hard or grass courts, which can lead to poor performance at the Olympics.
Points problem : Professional tennis players have a much lower number of points at the Olympics than they earn at Grand Slam events, which affects their position in the professional rankings.
But overall, tennis still has a place in the Olympics. Not only is it a popular sport, but it also provides a platform for young players to showcase themselves. In addition, the Olympic Games have contributed to the promotion of tennis and its international presence.