1900 Summer Olympics / Tennis

Tennis at the 1900 Summer Olympics
information
venue	Puteaux , France
Competition venue	Société de l'Île de Puteaux
Nations	10
Athletes	26 (19 , 7 )
date	July 6-11, 1900
decisions	4th
← Athens 1896 St. Louis 1904 →

Summer Olympics 1900 (tennis medal table)
space	team			3.	Total
1	Great Britain	4th	1	2	7th
2	Mixed team	-	2	2	4th
3	France	-	1	1	2
4th	United States	-	-	1	1
	Bohemia	-	-	1	1

In the French capital Paris during the World Fair ( Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Paris ) discharged international competitions for Physical Education and Sport (Concours Internationaux d'Exercices physiques et de Sports) included four competitions in tennis . The International Olympic Committee (IOC) assigned these competitions to the program of the 1900 Summer Olympics (Games of the Second Olympiad) .

At that time tennis was still a relatively young sport, the rules of which had only been developed 25 years earlier. However, he immediately found favor in the high society and the nobility. Cash prizes were already advertised at the first tennis tournaments at that time and a professional scene developed very early on . That is why there were also competitions in Paris which, according to Pierre de Coubertin , the founder of the modern Olympic Games , and according to the IOC, are not considered Olympic . In addition to the competitions for professionals, this also included the very popular competitions with handicaps for leveling different levels of performance at the time.

From the beginning of tennis history, women have always participated in the tennis game. They even organized their own tournaments. It was therefore not unusual to have a competition in Paris for women only. Nonetheless, it was a significant event in the history of the Olympic Games.

The competitions took place from July 6th to 11th. The venue was the places on the Île de Puteaux of the Société de l'Île de Puteaux based there . A total of 19 players and 7 players from 4 nations took part in the competitions.

Men's

singles

→ Main article : 1900 Summer Olympics / Tennis / Men's singles

space	country	player
1	United Kingdom	Hugh Doherty
2	United Kingdom	Harold Mahony
3	United Kingdom	Reginald Doherty
3	United Kingdom	Arthur Norris

The Doherty brothers

Date: July 6-11

15 players, including the two brothers Hugh and Reginald Doherty, competed against each other in seven preliminary round matches (with a bye). The winner and the player with the bye played the quarter-finals. In the semifinals, the Doherty brothers should compete against each other. They insisted on playing such a game only in the final, but this was not granted to them. Reginald then gave the game to his brother Hugh as lost without a fight. A game for third place was not played, so that Norris and R. Doherty were ranked together as third.

Double

→ Main article : Summer Olympics 1900 / tennis / men's doubles

space	country	player
1	United Kingdom	Hugh Doherty Reginald Doherty
2	Mixed team	Basil Spalding de Garmendia ( USA  ) Max Décugis ( FRA )
3	France	André Prévost Georges de la Chapelle
3	United Kingdom	Harold Mahony Arthur Norris

Date: July 6-11

16 players (eight pairs) from three nations competed, including the two brothers Hugh and Reginald Doherty. In the early days of the Olympic Games, nobody had aimed at a nation ranking or a medal table, so it was not a hindrance when athletes from different nations played in one team in team or team competitions. This also applied to the men's doubles competitions, where two pairs of players from the USA (Garmendia and Sands) met players from France (Decugis) and the United Kingdom (Warden).

A game for third place was not played. In contrast to the men's single game, who were awarded prizes despite being defeated in the semi-finals, and thus received an award, this was not planned for the doubles. The IOC still rates the losing pairs in the semi-finals as third.

Ladies

singles

→ Main article : 1900 Summer Olympics / Tennis / Women's singles

space	country	player
1	United Kingdom	Charlotte Cooper
2	France	Yvonne Prévost
3	United States	Marion Jones
3	Bohemia	Hedwiga Rosenbaumová

Scene from the women's competition

Date: July 6-11

6 players competed, among them the two sisters Marion and Georgina Jones. There were only two games in the quarterfinals, M. Jones and Rosenbaumová received a bye.

In countless publications, Charlotte Cooper is considered the first ever Olympic champion. This is not correct because on May 22nd, the Swiss Countess Hélène de Pourtalès counted among the crew at the sailing competitions in the 1-2 tons boat class and led her boat to victory together with her husband and her nephew.

A game for third place was not played. In contrast to the men's game, who were awarded prizes despite being defeated in the semi-finals and thus received an honor, this was not intended for the women. The IOC still evaluates the women who lost in the semi-finals as third, which means that Marion Jones is listed as the first medal winner in the USA .

Mixed

→ Main article : 1900 Summer Olympics / Tennis / Mixed

space	country	player
1	United Kingdom	Charlotte Cooper Reginald Doherty
2	Mixed team	Yvonne Prévost ( FRA )   Harold Mahony ( GBR )
3	Mixed team	Hedwiga Rosenbaumová ( BOH )   Archibald Warden ( GBR )
3	Mixed team	Marion Jones ( USA )   Hugh Doherty ( GBR )

Date: July 6-11

12 players (6 pairs) from 4 nations competed. In the early days of the Olympic Games, nobody had aimed at a nation ranking or a medal table, so it was not a hindrance when athletes from different nations played in one team in team or team competitions. This also applied to the mixed doubles competitions, where players from the United Kingdom Great Britain (Hugh Doherty, Harold Mahony and Archibald Warden) competed with players from the USA (Marion Jones), France (Yvonne Prévost) and from Bohemia (Hedwiga Rosenbaumová) had come together.

A game for third place was not played. In contrast to the men's single game, who were awarded prizes despite being defeated in the quarter-finals and thus received an award, this was not planned for the mixed doubles. The IOC still rates the losing pairs in the semi-finals as third.

The participation of players from different nations in a team in the pair competitions (men's doubles and mixed doubles) has led the IOC to assign the placement to the mixed teams and not exclusively to one nation. There are certainly publications in which this is viewed differently. The statistics and the medal table have changed accordingly.

literature

• Volker Kluge : Summer Olympic Games. The Chronicle I. Athens 1896 - Berlin 1936. Sportverlag Berlin, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-328-00715-6 .
• Karl Lennartz , Walter Teutenberg: II. Olympic Games 1900 in Paris. Presentation and sources. AGON Sportverlag, Kassel 1995, ISBN 3-928562-20-7 .
• Bill Mallon : The 1900 Olympic Games . McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina 1998, CIP 97-36094.

Web links

• Side of the IOC to the Summer Games in 1900 (English)
• Official report (French, PDF, 3 parts in total; 8.10 MB)
• Page about all Olympic participants by Herman de Wael (English)