Golden dreams

Published by Vivienne Christie

Venus (L) and Serena Williams celebrate their gold medal victory in women's doubles at London 2012; Getty Images

With the opportunity to participate only once every four years, the Olympic tennis event is a highlight of many careers. VIVIENNE CHRISTIE reports

There are many eras of longevity in an era of seemingly ageless champions, but Olympic tennis may provide the best measure of all.

Serena Williams was just 18 years old when she claimed her first Olympic gold medal, in women’s doubles, at Sydney in 2000. Sister Venus, who partnered Serena to that early career milestone, had only recently celebrated her 20th birthday.
The sisters have of course gone on to win two more Olympic gold in women’s doubles, the only glitch on a near perfect record occurring at Athens in 2004, when Serena didn’t play and eventual titlists Tin Li and Tian Tian Sun upset Venus and compatriot Chanda Rubin in the first round. Singles has been equally glittering for sport’s most accomplished siblings: Venus was the gold medalist at Sydney 2000, while Serena achieved that accolade at London in 2012.

Incredibly, the sisters will enter their fifth Olympics at Rio as favourites in both singles and doubles again. Combined with their stunning singles performances at Wimbledon – Serena was crowned women’s champion for the seventh time and Venus reached the final four of a major for the first time in six years – they were also victorious in doubles, their sixth title (and 14th Grand Slam title together overall) reflecting a renewed dedication in a special tennis year.

The sisters ramped up their competitive schedules in the claycourt season and trained together in Florida between the French Open and Wimbledon – a hefty workload so late in their careers. “Well, we needed to play some matches before the Olympics. We haven’t played in ages,” said Venus. “More than anything we want to represent the US the best we can. We don’t want to come in rusty.

It points to the heightened commitment that many players will make for the Olympics: while the lead-up to Rio was shaped by some high-profile withdrawals – reasons ranging from inevitable injuries to commitments to alternative events and concerns over the Zika virus – the 2016 season has also inspired new doubles partnerships, intense efforts to qualify and some complicated re-arranging of busy playing schedules in order to compete.

Many players acknowledge that representing their countries is an opportunity not to be missed. “My experience has been really amazing at the Olympics. I really loved going out there and competing, really just, you know, standing out there and being an Olympic athlete,” said Serena. “It is really one of the best experiences that I’ve ever had.”

Given that there are four major-winning opportunities each year, much has been made of tennis’ true place in the Olympics – that a 22-time Grand Slam champion would underline the significance highlights how it’s an event that stands apart.

Novak Djokovic, the flag-bearer for Serbia at the 2012 London Olympics, very much understands its special nature. The bronze medal the Serb claimed at Beijing in 2008 (after losing in the semifinals in Rafael Nadal), seems an underachievement in the context of the many records he’s claimed since, but the world No.1 also notes the honour of simply being able to participate.

“Olympic Games are the most renowned and most prominent sports event in he history of sport. No question about it. There is no bigger sports event than Olympic Games,” Djokovic said at Wimbledon. “It’s really amazing to be alongside all the best athletes in the world, to dine with them, to watch them perform live. It’s quite an experience I really look forward to.”

Bringing athletes together is something that has extra meaning for some. The 1992 Barcelona Olympics was a particularly special experience for Australian Nicole Bradtke, who not only teamed with Rachel McQuillan to win a bronze medals in women doubles but also met her future husband Mark, a member of the Australian men’s basketball team. Similarly, Roger Federer met wife Mirka, who was then competing on the WTA Tour, in Sydney.

The Olympics also enhances many sporting friendships. “I was already a couple of times a member of the team. To play Rio, it’s been my big dream, to be part of it … one of my best friends, she’s an Olympics swimmer, we are friends since Beijing Olympics,” explained Ana Ivanovic, alluding to the close bond she shares with Miroslava Najdanovski, the maid of honour at her recent wedding. “It’s very special.”

Other players have a family connection too. Svetlana Kuznetsova’s father, Alexandr, is the coach of six Olympic champions and her brother, Nikolai, was a silver medalist in cycling at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. CoCo Vandeweghe’s mother Tauna twice represented the US in swimming and Coco can’t wait to replicate the family experience.

“I’m going to try and do everything that I can … the opening ceremonies, Village, go to other sporting events, stuff like that. I’m going to make the most of my time out there,” Vandeweghe said on confirmation that she’d be part of the US team. “If I can find an inspiring athlete while I’m there that would be awesome.”

Clearly, the Olympics provide an important marker in many careers. Federer has long named Rio as a motivation to play on – a dream that the two-time medalist only just missed, with the announcement of his withdrawal from all remaining 2016 events occurring a fortnight before Rio commenced.

Venus, meanwhile, has already been talking about a sixth Olympic appearance at Tokyo 2020 as a possibility. “(There’s) no exact end of the road,” she said. “It’s hard to think about the end when you’re playing well.”

As far-fetched as it seems now, there’s also no doubting it could become another feat in the Williams’ remarkable longevity. For now, though, Rio is the top priority; with such rich and unique competitive opportunities, you can be certain that Serena, Venus and other players will be focused firmly on the present moment.

RIO 2016 TENNIS SNAPSHOT

> to be contested on hard courts at the Olympic Tennis Centre from 5 August

> many of the 16 courts will become a permanent fixture

> all matches are best of three sets, except for the men’s final, which is best of five

> no rankings points will be awarded in 2016

> medals will be awarded for men’s singles and doubles, women’s singles and doubles, plus mixed doubles. A total of 172 players are expected to compete

GOLD MEDAL DATES

Friday 12 August: men’s doubles
Saturday13 August: women’s singles
Sunday 14 August: men’s singles, women’s doubles, mixed doubles

DID YOU KNOW?

> tennis was one of the original nine sports staged in the first modern Olympics of 1896, held in Athens, Greece

> Australia’s Edwin Flack, competing in doubles, was among the original bronze medallists

> at the Paris Olympics in 1900, tennis became the first sport in which a woman won an Olympic gold medal (Britain’s Charlotte Cooper created this piece of history)

> London’s 1908 games featured both indoor and outdoor events – the former at Queen’s and the latter at Wimbledon.

> after logistical difficulties in previous events, the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics was staged without tennis

> after a 56-year absence, tennis returned to the Olympics as a demonstration sport at Los Angeles in 1984; singles winners were Stefan Edberg and Steffi Graf

> Miroslav Mecir (Czechoslovakia) and Steffi Graf (GER) were the singles gold medalists when tennis officially returned as an Olympic event at Seoul in 1988

MULTIPLE MEDALLISTS
Among current players, there are several who have stood out as multi Olympic medalists:

Venus Williams
Sydney 2000 – women’s singles gold / women’s doubles gold
Beijing 2008 – women’s doubles gold
London 2012 – women’s doubles gold

Serena Williams
Sydney 2000 – women’s doubles gold
Beijing 2008 – women’s doubles gold
London 2012 – women’s singles gold / women’s doubles gold

Roger Federer
Beijing 2008 – men’s doubles gold
London 2012 – men’s singles silver

Andy Murray
London 2012 – men’s singles gold / mixed doubles silver

Victoria Azarenka
London 2012 – women’s singles bronze / mixed doubles gold

Bob & Mike Bryan
Beijing 2008  – men’s doubles bronze
London 2012 – men’s doubles gold
(Mike also claimed mixed doubles bronze at London 2012)

(This article appears in the August/September 2016 issue of Australian Tennis Magazine. Subscribe now and follow on @AusTennisMag)

Share this: 
  • Most popular articles

14 August 2017

Sharapova quotes Serena: “I will never lose to that li...

Maria Sharapova has opened up in her memoir Unstoppable, revealing her take on how Serena ... More

16 February 2017

Men’s and women’s tennis: as different as believ...

In the first part of our series analysing the similarities and differences between men's ... More

22 August 2017

Putintseva’s epic coaching bust-up

Finally! After years of watching coaches wander on to court and say nothing particularly i... More

7 November 2016

20 Questions: Andy Murray

Double Wimbledon champion, double Olympic champion and now world No.1. But what doesn't An... More