Tennis at the 2000 Summer Olympics

Tennis and swimming are the two most popular sports in Australia, so the Australian fans awaited the 2000 Olympic tennis competition with great interest. The program was the same it had been since the sport returned to the Olympic Program in 1988, with four events, no mixed doubles, but with men’s and women’s singles and doubles. Mixed doubles would not be returned to the program until the 2012 London Olympics.

The 2000 tennis events were held at the New South Wales Tennis Centre in the Olympic Park in Sydney, on cushioned hardcourts made of Rebound Ace material. The Centre was built for the 2000 Olympics, being finished only in December 1999. It consisted of 10 match courts and 6 practice courts, with the main stadium named the Ken Rosewall Arena, after the Australian tennis legend.

Nine nations won medals in 2000 tennis, but only Russia, with 2, and the United States, with 3, won multiple medals. The USA won both women’s events, with Venus Williams winning the singles and she and her sister, Serena, winning the doubles.