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FACTBOX: Tennis

Thu Jul 24, 2008 10:59pm EDT

Factbox on tennis at the August 8-24 Beijing Olympics:

Sports  |  China

HISTORY

Men's tennis was included in the first modern Olympics in 1896 when the singles was won by John Boland, an Anglo-Irish student who was on holiday in Athens and was entered for the tournament by a Greek friend. Boland also won the doubles with German Fredrich Traun after Traun's partner fell ill.

Women's events were introduced in 1900 at the Paris Games. The first winner was Briton Charlotte Cooper, who had already won three Wimbledon titles and became the first female champion of the modern Games in any sport. There was no women's tournament at the 1904 Games in St Louis.

Tennis was withdrawn from the Olympics in 1928 because of a dispute about the definition of amateurism.

It returned as a demonstration sport at the 1984 Los Angeles Games and was reinstated as a medals sport in Seoul in 1988.

Mixed doubles featured in six editions of the Games in the early 1900s but has not been included since 1924.

To be eligible to compete in the Olympics, players must have made themselves available for their country's Davis Cup or Fed Cup teams.

EVENTS

Men's and women's singles (draws of 64)

Men's and women's doubles (draws of 32)

OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION

A country can have a maximum of 6 men and 6 women.

2004 CHAMPIONS

Men's singles: Nicolas Massu (Chile)

Women's singles: Justine Henin-Hardenne (Belgium)

Men's doubles: Fernando Gonzalez/Nicolas Massu (Chile)

Women's doubles: Li Ting/Sun Tian Tian (China)

OLYMPIC PROGRAMME

August 16 - women's singles, men's doubles

August 17 - men's singles, women's doubles

VENUE

Olympic Green Tennis Centre

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

www.itftennis.com

(Editing by Clare Fallon)
Sports
China


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