1920 Summer Olympics / Tennis
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Tennis at the 1920 Summer Olympics |
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| information | |
| venue |
 Antwerp
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| Competition venue | Beerschot Tennis Club |
| Nations | 14th |
| Athletes | 75 (52  , 23  )
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| date | August 16-24, 1920 |
| decisions | 5 |
| ← Stockholm 1912 | |
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Olympic Summer Games 1920 (tennis medal table) |
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| space | team |
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Total |
| 1 |
 Great Britain
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2 | 3 | 1 | 6th |
| 2 |
 France
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2 | - | 2 | 4th |
| 3 |
.svg){kind=small} South African Union
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1 | - | 1 | 2 |
| 4th |
 Japan
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- | 2 | - | 2 |
| 5 |
 Czechoslovakia
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- | - | 1 | 1 |
At the VII Olympic Games in Antwerp in 1920 , five tennis competitions were held from August 16 to 23 .
The tennis courts were specially designed for the games right next to the Olympic Stadium . Due to the proximity to the athletics competitions, matches often had to be interrupted because of the applause of the spectators.
As in the previous games, some top players were also missing this time. This time the games overlapped with the US National Championships , which is why the Americans decided to participate in these.
There was no other tournament in a hall, as was the case at the 1912 Games, but only one held on an open court. For the first time the women could take part in a doubles competition in addition to the singles.
Men's
singles
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The men's individual competition was weak internationally. The three best players of the time - the Americans Bill Tilden and Bill Johnston and the Australian Gerald Patterson - did not take part. While the Americans stayed away because of the overlap with the US Open, Patterson was supposed to play, but canceled at short notice because of other dates. At the US Championships, Tilden won the final in five sets against Johnston. The gold medalist Louis Raymond, on the other hand, has barely any international successes beyond his Olympic title. The silver medalist Kumagai Ichiya was the first international tennis player from Japan and was the first Asian to win an Olympic medal in tennis.
The match between Gordon Lowe and Augustos Zerlendis in the second round was one of the longest in Olympic history with a duration of six hours. It was played over two days. The ball boys are said to have left the pitch at a time out of boredom to have lunch, which meant that the match had to be interrupted until they returned. Ultimately, Lowe won in five sets.
Double
The doubles competition was also not in the best position, even if the matches were closely contested. The British Noel Turnbull and Max Woosnam won the final in four sets against the Japanese Kashio Seiichirō and Kumagai Ichiya in four sets. In addition to tennis, Woosnam was also successful in other sports and was considered an all-rounder. It was also scheduled for the British football team for the 1920 Games, but was unable to attend due to other dates. After winning the singles title, Kumagai also won the first Japanese medal in doubles. The game for third place went to Pierre Albarran and Max Décugis without a fight . The latter had already won three gold medals at the interludes in 1906.
Ladies
singles
| space | country | Player |
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| 1 |
France
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Suzanne Lenglen |
| 2 |
Great Britain
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Dorothy Holman |
| 3 |
Great Britain
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Kathleen McKane |
| 4th |
 Sweden
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Sigrid Fick |
| 5 |
Belgium
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Fernande Arendt |
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France
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Elisabeth d'Ayen | |
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Belgium
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Anne de Borman | |
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Sweden
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Lily Strömberg-von Essen |
The women's individual competition had a stronger field than that of the men. In addition to the French Suzanne Lenglen , who dominated the sport at will in the early 20s and who is considered one of the best tennis players of all time, Dorothy Holman , who lost in the final, and the third-placed (both British) top players were also top players. Molla Mallory , Dorothea Douglass and Elizabeth Ryan were absent .
During the entire tournament, Lenglen did not give a set and only four games. She won her first three matches 6-0, 6-0, then lost one game in the semi-finals and finally three games in the final. Kathleen McKane won the game for 3rd place against the Swede Sigrid Fick quite clearly .
Double
The doubles competition consisted of nine pairings and was won by Winifred McNair and Kathleen McKane from Great Britain. In the semifinals they defeated the French around Élisabeth d'Ayen and Lenglen in the third set 8: 6 and in the final their compatriots Winifred Beamish and Dorothy Holman in two sets. The bronze medal went to the French Lenglen and d'Ayen without a fight.
Mixed
16 pairings from seven nations played in mixed doubles. Suzanne Lenglen won the gold medal as in the individual. With this victory, Max Décugis at her side ended his Olympic career, which began at the 1900 Games in Paris. He won a total of six medals, four of which were gold - both are Olympic records.
On the way to the tournament victory they lost a set and were only challenged in the final against the British pairing of McKane and Woosnam, where they won 6: 4, 6: 2. McKane, like Lenglen, won a medal in all three competitions of the 1920 Games. Milada Skrbková and Ladislav Žemla from Czechoslovakia prevailed in the game for third place .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ David Wallechinsky: The Complete Book To The Olympics . Penguin Books, 1984, ISBN 0-14-006632-2 , pp. 548 .
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