Top five things to know

Tennis on the Tokyo 2020 Video games in 2021 will fall between Grand Slam occasions at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, and is the ninth staging of the game as a medal occasion since its return to the Olympic programme in 1988.

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are nonetheless looking for their first Olympic gold medal in singles whereas Andy Murray goes for his third in a row. Osaka Naomi is the house hope within the girls’s singles occasion, whereas Nishikori Kei will attempt to equal or higher his Rio 2016 bronze medal.

Right here, we take a more in-depth have a look at the athletes in rivalry for the rostrum and absorb some Olympic historical past in our information to Olympic tennis at Tokyo 2020.

Prime Olympic tennis gamers at Tokyo 2020 – Males

The Olympic tennis occasion is managed by the Worldwide Tennis Federation (ITF), which has set 7 June because the rankings date cut off for Olympic qualification.

Djokovic, the London 2012 bronze medallist, will goal to seize Olympic gold, one of many few accomplishments nonetheless lacking from his CV, just like that of Federer. The ‘Swiss maestro’ received doubles gold with Stan Wawrinka at Beijing 2008.

Nadal was the gold medal winner at Beijing, and continues to be a fierce pressure in males’s tennis past simply his savoured crimson clay, having received the French Open for a 13th time in 2020.

Murray turned the primary participant to win back-to-back singles golds in tennis in 2012 and 2016, however has had harm struggles over the past a number of years. Murray has said he would “like to compete once more” on the Olympics.

Nishikori, equally, has had his personal harm challenges, however former world No.4 will nonetheless eye the rostrum in entrance of the house crowds.

2020 U.S. Open winner Dominic Thiem is coached by double Olympic gold medallist Nicolas Massu, whereas different male gamers to look at embrace Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, Alexander Zverev and Matteo Berrettini.

Prime Olympic tennis gamers at Tokyo 2020 – Ladies

Osaka is certainly one of a number of favourites among the many girls, and together with Nishikori is without doubt one of the nationwide faces of the Summer time Video games. She is a three-time main champion, profitable the U.S. Open in 2018 and 2020, in addition to the Australian Open in 2019.

She could have historical past maker Serena Williams to cope with, already the proprietor of 4 Olympic gold medals, together with three doubles golds with sister Venus. If Venus is to play, will probably be alongside sister Serena, having fallen too low within the rankings among the many U.S. girls.

Sofia Kenin and Madison Keys are different American names to know, whereas main champions Ashleigh Barty, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova, Bianca Andreescu, Garbiñe Muguruza, Victoria Azarenka and Rio silver medallist Angelique Kerber can’t be missed.

Youth Olympic Video games medallist Iga Swiatek will look to proceed her success from 2020, as nicely, having won her maiden major on the French Open.

Prime 10 regulars Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova, Kiki Bertens and Aryna Sabalenka may contend for the rostrum, as reigning Olympic champion Monica Puig will look to re-capture her Olympic magic on the courts of Tokyo.

Prime Olympic tennis gamers at Tokyo 2020 – Doubles

Nadal teamed up with good buddy Marc Lopez to win gold at Rio, whereas the world No.1 crew coming into 2021 is Colombian pair Juan-Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah.

Ekaterina Makaraova and Elena Vesnina received within the girls’s, each having since walked away from the sport (Vesnina is due again this 12 months). The best-ranked, single-nation duo in girls’s doubles at the beginning of the 12 months are the Czech Republics Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova.

Individuals Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jack Sock are the reigning Olympic champions in combined doubles.

Olympic tennis schedule at Tokyo 2020

All occasions are Japan Commonplace Time (GMT/UTC+9).

The competitors will happen from 24 July – 1 August 2021.

Date and Time: Sat 24 July 11:00 – 20:00

Males’s Singles First Spherical
Ladies’s Singles First Spherical
Males’s Doubles First Spherical
Ladies’s Doubles First Spherical

Date and Time: Solar 25 July 11:00 – 20:00

Males’s Singles First Spherical
Ladies’s Singles First Spherical
Males’s Doubles First Spherical
Ladies’s Doubles First Spherical

Date and Time: Mon 26 July 11:00 – 20:00

Males’s Singles Second Spherical
Ladies’s Singles Second Spherical
Males’s Doubles Second Spherical
Ladies’s Doubles Second Spherical

Date and Time: Tue 27 July 11:00 – 20:00

Males’s Singles Second Spherical
Ladies’s Singles Third Spherical
Males’s Doubles Quarterfinals
Ladies’s Doubles Second Spherical/Quarterfinals

Date and Time: Wed 28 July 11:00 – 20:00

Males’s Singles Third Spherical
Ladies’s Singles Quarterfinals
Males’s Doubles Semifinals
Ladies’s Doubles Quarterfinals
Combined Doubles First Spherical

Date and Time: Thu 29 July 11:00 – 20:00

Males’s Singles Quarterfinals
Ladies’s Singles Semifinals
Ladies’s Doubles Semifinals
Combined Doubles Quarterfinals

Date and Time: Fri 30 July 12:00 – 20:00

Males’s Singles Semifinals
Males’s Doubles Gold Medal Match
Males’s Doubles Victory Ceremony

Date and Time: Sat 31 July 12:00 – 20:00

Males’s Singles Bronze Medal Match
Ladies’s Singles Bronze Medal Match
Ladies’s Singles Gold Medal Match
Ladies’s Singles Victory Ceremony

Date and Time: Solar 1 Aug. 12:00 – 20:00

Males’s Singles Gold Medal Match
Males’s Singles Victory Ceremony
Ladies’s Doubles Gold Medal Match
Ladies’s Doubles Victory Ceremony
Combined Doubles Gold Medal Match
Combined Doubles Victory Ceremony

*The above contains all doable occasions every day. The ultimate courtroom assignments and order of play are topic to vary up till the day of the session.

Olympic tennis venue at Tokyo 2020

Ariake Tennis Park in full accommodates almost 20,000 spectators, with the primary stadium, the Ariake Coliseum, seating 10,000 of them, an area that’s outfitted with a retractable roof. It was initially constructed in 1985.

In whole, 11 courts shall be used for tennis competitors, although the Park has 43 in whole. Many courts shall be used for practices and warm-ups.

The Park is situated on the coronary heart of the Video games, the place venues for gymnastics, volleyball, BMX, 3×3 basketball and different disciplines are located.

Olympic tennis competitors format at Tokyo 2020

The tennis competitors shall be performed on out of doors laborious courts and have males’s singles and girls’s singles, each with a 64-player (six spherical) draw. The format is knockout, that means if a participant loses at any level earlier than the semi-finals, she or he is eradicated.

The 4 semi-finalists will play for medals: The 2 winners of the semi-finals will meet for gold (and silver); whereas the 2 gamers defeated within the semi-finals will play for bronze.

The identical goes for the medals in males’s and girls’s doubles, although the attracts are one spherical smaller, that means there shall be 32-team attracts (5 rounds).

The combined doubles will function 16 groups.

Scoring is common tennis scoring, with matches performed finest out of three units, every utilizing a tie-breaker at six video games all. Solely the lads’s singles last is performed as a better of five-set format, like within the Grand Slams.

Olympic tennis historical past

Having been part of the trendy Olympics from 1896 to 1924, tennis returned as a medal sport in 1988 and has since remained as a part of the programme, including combined doubles to the singles and doubles competitions in 2012.

Whereas the attracts are smaller than on the sport’s 4 majors – the Grand Slams – tennis Olympic gold is coveted, and has been received by a number of the greats within the sport, together with present gamers like Venus and Serena, Federer, Nadal, Murray, and others.

When the game returned in 1988, Steffi Graf received “the Golden Slam” – and stays the one participant in historical past to have accomplished so: All 4 majors and Olympic gold in a single 12 months.

Different well-known gold medallists embrace Andre Agassi and Lindsay Davenport at Atlanta 1996, Justine Henin at Athens 2004 and the doubles groups of Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge (1996) and Bob and Mike Bryan (2012). Jennifer Capriati is the youngest-ever Olympic gold medallist in tennis, having received at age 16 years, 4 months at Barcelona 1992.

Azarenka teamed up with countryman Max Mirnyi to win the combined doubles in 2012, as nicely.