Top 10: Olympic tennis players

 

Originally published on: 25/07/12 00:00

1) Kitty Godfree (GBR)
1 Gold, 2 Silvers, 2 Bronzes
The legendary Englishwoman bagged five medals – one gold, two silvers and a couple of bronzes – at the 1920 Antwerp and 1924 Paris Games, the most ever won by a single player.

2) Reg Doherty (GBR)
3 Golds, 1 bronze
The British Hall of Famer collected three golds and a bronze during his two Olympic outings – in Paris in 1900 and, after skipping the St Louis Games in 1904, eight years later in London.

3) Venus Williams (USA)
3 Golds
Along with Doherty, Venus holds the record for the most golds won by a player. She won the singles and the doubles alongside Serena in 2000, as well as the Beijing doubles too.

4) Charles Dixon (GBR)
1 Gold, 1 Silver, 2 Bronzes
One of four players to have won four medals, the Lincolnshire player won a doubles bronze at the 1908 London Games, and another three indoor tennis medals in Stockholm in 1912.

5) Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (ESP)
2 Silvers, 2 Bronzes
Another player from the modern era who excelled at the Olympics. She won singles bronze and doubles silver in Barcelona in 1992, and singles silver and doubles bronze in Atlanta in ‘96.

6) Gunnar Setterwall (SWE)
2 Silvers, 2 Bronzes
Like Sanchez Vicario, the Stockholm native collected four medals during his career, his first – a bronze – coming in Stockholm at his home Games in 1912.

7) Nicolas Massu (CHI)
2 Golds
‘Vampiro’ is the only man to have won singles and doubles at the same Games. In 2004, he won the doubles with Fernando Gonzalez, and then beat Mardy Fish in the singles.

8) Steffi Graf (GER)
1 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
The German is the only tennis player ever to achieve a ‘Golden Slam’ – all four Grand Slams and Olympic gold in the same season after winning the 1988 Seoul Games.

9) Fernando Gonzalez (CHI)
1 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
Another Chilean to have excelled at the Games, Gonzo won a doubles gold with Massu and singles bronze in 2004, before adding a singles silver in Beijing in 2008.

10) Serena Williams (USA)
2 Golds
The American legend has two golds on the shelf after doubles titles in both Sydney in 2000 and Beijing in 2008. Who would bet against her adding to her haul this summer? Not us.

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