I'm not sure she can? :shrug:


I'm sure I read or heard a commentator say the other week that she cannot now play the Olympics this year as she didn't play Fed last year, but if she is playing this weekend can she play??
The BBC don't seem to mention it..

Well Mary couldnt play Fedlast year through injury, but has said the Olypics is one of her main goals this season, so she seems to think its ok :unsure:

This is taken from the ITF webpage:

All players must:

Make him/herself available for selection to represent his/her country in any of theInternational Team Championships of the Federation for two of the followingyears – 2005, 2006, 2007 or 2008 - provided that one of those years is either2007 or 2008. In 2005, 2006, 2007 or 2008, a player who makes him/herselfavailable for selection for one Tie in Davis Cup or Fed Cup will be deemed tohave fulfilled the requirement for that year.

translate that for me DJ love :wacko: does that mean they can play?

it means that so long as Maria has made herself available for a Davis Cup tie for at least 2 years in the last 4, she's eligible. This doesn't mean she's had to have played - just been available. She turned up at one last year to cheer didn't she, so I think that makes her available.

Dunno about Mary - was she able to play at all last year?

it's up to the National tennis associations of each country to enter players in the Olympics, which is probably why Maria is desperately trying to make friends with the Russians. I've just been reading something that suggests that her sponsors will be very upset if she doesn't play in Bejing :shrug:

Mary couldnt play at all last year but i cant remember her state come 2006, but she must have been available because she has already said she is playing Olympics this year :yahoo:

I hope Maria does play, i really think she is ready to take a step up in her career, and i think shes a great ambassador

yeah, but at least one of the 2 years must have either been this year or last year :blink: it could be that pierce gets special dispensation because she's been injured..... :shrug:

and they're basing the direct acceptance on rankings in June this year - i don't know how many get direct acceptance though :unsure:

Svetlana Kuznetsova, Maria Sharapova Headed to Beijing Olympics (www.foxsports.com.au, source)

(..... I guess she made it then)

:)

Hope Elena and Vera will get to go, please don't send Chokevetadze :rolleyes: , she'll end up losing in the first round to someone from Mozambique or something... :rolleyes: roflmao

Put it this way - if the current holder of the Australian Open, who is also (most likely) one of the top two ranking Russians and (most likely) one of the top 5 players in the world, were excluded from the Olympics because of its selection criteria that would give eloquent testimony to the embarassingly irrelevant nature of the Olympics in tennis. To those who say it is unfair because journeymen have put more effort into the national teams I respond with the question, "is the Olympics for sporting excellence or something else?"

The Olympics should be the summit of all sports under its umbrella. It is not in tennis and I cannot see how it ever will be. If everyone was a bit more honest rather than obsessed with chasing after sponsorship/advertising money, profile, and a bizarre sort of 'me too' attitude they would recognise that it's better for all parties to drop tennis from the Olympics now.

Tennis is unsuitable for many reasons, perhaps three in particular: a. accident of sporting history; b. form is more transient than in many sports so that a tournament once every four years is not going to identify the players accepted by those in the know as the best. You need a series of annual tournaments for that; and, c. a combination of the two - the fact that the Olympics is the dominant competition in some sports has lead to there being an accepted 4-year cycle in them, that is not the case with tennis.

Finally, if you want to be thought of as great in tennis you have to match up to the achievements of the likes of Borg, Laver and Sampras at the GS tournaments, not Mecir, Rosset, and Massu at the Olympics.

That's not the point though. :shrug:

It's good that tennis is an Olympic sport becuase more and more countries will take it seriously, hopefully more people will play and that can only be good for tennis in the long term... :ok:

Well, if that's how the Olympics wants its 'brand' to be used, I guess it's more fool them.

Lets not kid ourselves that if tennis was not already a popular sport played by some fairly media friendly, even good-looking, global superstars the Olympics would not be content to be used as a recruiting station for the sport by hosting a distinctly also-ran competition.

Anyway, I cannot agree - if excellence within any particular constituent sport is not 'the point' then the Olympics has lost its way, aided and abetted by the sport in question.

well if the Olympics helps tennis get played in countries it normally wouldn't be, then I'm all for it! :D

tennis in the Olympics is silly :yep:

so is not using the French language properly... :P

roflmao

you're English is no better buddy :yep:

an example would be nice... :cheers:

i'll let you figure it out. i figured out my mistake :P

Would be ludicrous if Sharapova weren't eligible for the Olympics.

I'm also surprised that each country can send only 4 players to the singles. that's no problem for the likes of Great Britain(!), but surely for Russia that causes problems?

I'd disagree that Tennis should be excluded.

Reasons for this:

1. I like watching badminton. It is huge in Asia, gets no coverage in the UK. It's always a great opportunity to watch the world's best.

So, if that rule applies for tennis in some other countries (and I'm sure that there are several countries where it doesn't get great coverage, and, Wimbledon aside, I'd almost include the UK terrestrial TV coverage!), then it's good to get a platform

2. To address Barry's point about form, well, it's no different for any other sport in the Olympics, is it?

3. I don't think that it's that devalued in Tennis either. Yes, players have withdrawn in the past (didn't Sampras withdraw, and maybe Roddick has this year?)

However, in the last olympics, Henin beat Mauresmo in the final. Yes, Massu bizarrely won the men's event, but the pool included the likes of Federer, Roddick, Safin, who were the top players at that time too.

Also, there is mention of the 'Golden Slam' a la Steffi.

I recall watching 1988 tennis olympics. Mecir was awesome in that, and a deserved winner, with a great win over Edberg, if memory serves correctly.

Ok, so maybe it should be a contest for amateurs, but that hardly seems to apply these days.

So I say include Tennis, esp if the likes of Badminton and Table Tennis are included.

hmmm, not sure you have you know.... roflmao

Does it?

Recent Olympics have been in Seoul, Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney, and Athens.

I have not noticed any Greek or Korean players coming through as a result of hosting the Olympic tennis tournament.

Beijing is the one exception - I am sure that China has put money into tennis and produced successful players (in ladies doubles at least) with the medal tally in mind, and you cannot ignore that there are 1.3bn of them. But there are also strong moves to promote golf in that country, and golf is not an Olympic Sport. It is also interesting that they have chiefly gone for a competition (ladies doubles) where the barrier to entry is probably the lowest - singles would be a much taller order and I don't think I will be hammered too hard for saying that the strength in depth in men's tennis is probably greater than in women's tennis.

Then there is London......

But seriously - have you ever heard a tennis player saying that they were inspired as a kid by watching the Olympic tennis tournament either live or on television?

No - you have not, and you are not likely to either. Not least because those legends that deign to turn up usually have a strong dose of 'don't care whether I winitis' in marked contrast to the way they put it all on the line at the GS tournaments. You do hear young players today saying that they were inspired by watching GS tournaments and that is not about to change.

The truth is that the sponsors who pile money into the IOC want globally recognised faces at the Games alongside the rythmic gymnasts, air-rifle shooters, wrestlers, and weight-lifters for whom the Olympics really means everything in the true Olympian spirit. The IOC and weak-minded cash-chasing sports bodies are all too willing to clog up their already over-loaded calenders by giving the sponsors what they want.

Oh, here's an article about Tennis in the Olympics.

Hey, it's a Pro-tennis article on a Chinese website (so clearly unlikely to be pro-Olympics), but I enjoyed reading about Lindsay Davenport's memories of the games:

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90779/90867/6394940.html




Tennis champs catch Olympic fever
+ -
09:00, April 18, 2008

Although the 2008 tennis season is barely four months old, Swiss world No 1 Roger Federer and other leading players are already turning their thoughts toward the Beijing Olympics in August.

For Federer, the Olympic Games is close to the Grand Slams in importance while Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic believes they might rank even higher because they take place only once every four years.

American Lindsay Davenport will never forget the stirring memories of her triumphant debut at the Atlanta Games in 1996 and Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova says she would prefer to win an Olympic gold medal this year over any of the Grand Slams.


"For me, it's a big priority of the year," Federer, a winner of 12 Grand Slam titles, told reporters during the Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells last month.

"The (ATP) Tour actually bases its entire schedule around the Olympics Games and I follow that scheme. I want to play in this year's Olympics and I'm going to be there.

"I've already had two great experiences," the 26-year-old Swiss added, referring to Sydney in 2000 when he lost the bronze-medal match to Frenchman Arnaud Di Pasquale and Athens in 2004 when he lost to Czech Tomas Berdych in the second round.

"For me it is already, but maybe some players and some fans need more convincing that the Olympics is big for tennis."

Serbian world No 3 Djokovic, who clinched his eighth ATP title by beating American Mardy Fish in the Pacific Life Open final last month, agrees.

"I rate them (the Games) probably on the top, one of the tops for sure," the 20-year-old said. "I mean come on, it's the Olympics.

Once every four years

"You get to play Grand Slams every year, four Grand Slams. The Olympics you get to play one time in four years and who knows what will happen in four years for us?

"So I will not risk that and I'll be very honored and privileged to participate in such an event, an event with the most tradition in sport."

Russian former world No 1 Maria Sharapova has long cherished competing at the Olympics.

"It's been a dream of mine ever since I was a little girl, so it's been one of my priorities for a very long time," the 20-year-old said.

"The Olympics comes around only once every four years and the US Open is there every single year.

"One of the things I'm really looking forward to is the opening ceremony and walking with all the athletes from my country in front of thousands of people."

WTA Tour veteran Davenport was a gold medalist in the women's singles at the 1996 Atlanta Games, two years before she clinched the first of her three Grand Slam titles.

"It was the first big thing I won and a huge honor," the former Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open champion told Reuters.

"When I won the US Open in 1998, it seemed to give me more validity as a player. Those two were certainly big turning points in my career and it's hard to compare them.

"I can't wait to go back in early August. It's been on the calendar for my family for a long time. My aspiration is to do my best to win any medal. I really don't care.

Best memory

"My best memory is winning the gold but I always think back to the opening ceremonies in '96. The United States was the last country to come out and I was with Mary Joe (Fernandez) and Monica (Seles), two of my best friends on the Tour.

"It was a moment I'll never forget. We were so excited and giddy and, like, pure joy. Sitting there, we were all crying when Muhammad Ali lit the torch. I always kind of think back to that moment."

Kuznetsova was brought up in a family where the Olympic Games represented the ultimate in sport.

Her father, Alexandr Kuznetsov, coached six Olympic and world cycling champions, including her mother, Galina Tsareva, a six-time world champion.

"For me it's very important," said the 22-year-old, who won her first Grand Slam title at the 2004 US Open. "It's like a Grand Slam or even maybe more important than that."

Asked whether she would prefer to win Wimbledon or an Olympic gold medal this year, Kuznetsova replied: "Olympic gold medal. No question."

Pressed if she would change her mind if the French Open was the alternative, she said: "It would come very close, you know. I hope I don't need to choose this one.

"Well, if I have one Grand Slam and I would have one Olympic medal it would be good. I have chances to win (Grand Slams) next year, you know, but then there is no Olympics."

Another article from the New York times, from just after tennis was brought back into the Olympics in 1988 (won't paste it into post, this time!):

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...753C1A96E948260

Decent points all, Petalp, I'd say:

1. & 2. - my point also inolved the combined effect of accident of history and form. Sports for which the Olympics have been 'the big one' have by force of habit developed a 4-yr mindset which works now. Tennis has not, it has developed entirely differently, and it is too late to force the mindset on Tennis.

It's also about money - sports like Badminton are not big-money sports (also probably in part by virtue of an accident of history) and have no doubt benefited enormously from being Olympic Sports and developed in their way because of that. Tennis is a more effective spectator sport - it is less affected by wind and can be watched by larger crowds - as well as one that has been more popular in more affluent parts of the world. The professional game has developed fantastically without the Olympics - it seems all wrong grafting a diddy Olympics competition onto a sport with an already successful settled rythm and its own superstars.

3. I would agree that it has not greatly de-valued tennis, but it has not added to the lustre of tennis and the fact that in the main the 'big guys' aren't really bothered (only 3 out of 10 male finalists ever won a GS) makes you wonder what is the point. It is hardly edifying that a tennis competition is staged at the Olympics that many of the best players have historically avoided, or not really given their all for.

Women's tennis is a bit different - the top women are so much better than the also rans that historically shock winners are generally less likely than in men's tennis as a whole.

Golden Slam - like Agassi's 'boxed set', the media can always be trusted to try and drum up a bit of interest by resort to statistics. If Fed got a grandslam this year (he can't now) we'd all be comparing him with Laver and if he lost in the 1st round of the Olympics nobody would bat an eyelid.

In reality winning the Olympics is a bit like winning a TMS tournament - although TMS draws are consistently stronger and deeper. Anecdotal evidence would include the fact that Kuerten apparently says that his win at Cincinnati (2001) was probably his best tennis-playing tournament win given the scalps that he took on the way - so the Olympics may have been similar for Mecir, but sadly he was not able to win when it counted at a GS but was downed instead by Lendl in his GS finals. Lendl, incidentally, was absent from the 1988 Olympics along with 1988's best player, Wilander, and beaten Wimbledon finalist for that year Boris Becker.

Apparently Daniela Hantuchova watched Mecir's olympics performance and cites it as a reason why she took up the sport. Just one example, I know, but I'd have thought that in the time of Eastern Block countries, the Olympic event would have got more coverage than a slam event.. I guess that this really only applies to 1988 though..? Wonder if that could also apply to Bejing for China/ North Korea??

Winners of the women's title have been Henin, Davenport, Graf, Capriati, and Venus Williams (in no particular order). So I'd say that the winners resemble quite closely the slam-winning best players of the time.

Add to that the likes of Graf who returned to attempt to defend her title in 92 (won silver I think) and Sanchez-Vicario who won medals at 2 Olympics, then there's some evidnece of top players taking it seriously.

One issue though has to be timing. It seems that the event sometimes takes place just before the US Open (barcelona 92 and bejing 08 being two?). If a player prioritises that (as I'd think Roddick has and Sampras did) then there is a scheduling problem there, and the ATP/ WTA/ USO are at fault, and that is a different can of worms I guess, and Barry's point about money definitely comes into play there..

I noted this from the article

Quite - they have demonstrably not been so consistently during the Olympics, at least in the men's singles competition, when the big boys frequently either don't turn up, or don't really try, but it's always possible to find players who mouth the same old platitudes when a microphone is shoved under their noses.

Even then the details give it all away. For Fed it is a priority - quite so, about No. 7 for the year behind the GS, No. 1, and his home tournament at Basel.

Davenport remembers the Olympics with affection no doubt because, for all her success in the lesser tournaments, she only won 3 GS so it is clearly a highlight in her mind and, as she says, it was the biggest thing she'd won by then.

Hantuchova may have been inspired by Mecir, but her original home country (Czechoslovakia) did not lack for tennis talent in the pre-Olympics world, having also produced the very inspiring Lendl and Navratilova (I admit they were Czechs, and Mecir is a Slovak), the latter of whom may have been prevented from being an idol by effectively being treated non-existent person by the Comunist authorities.

Again, valid points Barry.

In terms of the 4-year aspect, I think that tennis is one of the few sports that doesn't have a 4-yearly tournament as part of its fabric, and that is sadly missing.

If you look at the other sports that aren't really deemed Olympic sports too, then football has the World Cup, as does Rugby Union, as does Cricket. But nothing for tennis.

Yes, the history of withdrawals does indicate that sometimes players have not given it a profile that it ought to merit, and that is a shame.

However, I'd say that the tennis authorities could easily rectify that. According to the NYT article Chatrier was instrumental in bringing it back into the Olympics. I'd wondered if the tennis authorities should really put their money where their mouth is and:

- allow for rescheduling of the ATP/ WTA timetable to accommodate for the Olympics. It's ones every 4 years, so why not? Ok, the US hardcourt season would suffer, including the US Open (and labour day is a traditional USO day, US viewing figures etc). A big ask, I know.

- why not allocate ranking points for the tournament?


That would surely get the big guns interested, surely?

I would have thought that the players would have adopted a reverse approach rather than 'just another tournament', as it's their chance to take part in a huge global event, spend time with other athletes, and makes a refreshing change for them. After all, the average tennis player is unlikely to be ble to compete for more than 2-3 Olympic tournaments..

Good point about the money aspect. It would be a good chance for players to show themselves not chasing the dollars, and lend their names to raising the profile of the games (albeit an event often now deemed corrupt, drug-riddled and prone to political manipulation!).

In 1992 it was on clay in Barcelona between Wimbledon and US Open - go figure!!!!!

In 2012 it will be on Grass at Wimbledon, just a few weeks after Wimbledon. Instead we will have RG, Wimbledon, Canada/Cincy, then mini Wimbledon before going back to the US Open.

I think we all know who will be 'king of the castle' in 2012 if the Wimbledon finalists meet again in the Olympic final a month later and the result is reversed?

This year they will have to go on a mad dash from North America to sweaty smoggy Beijing and back during the final build-up to the US Open - Roddick is playing a canny game IMHO.

Yip.. the thought process behind Barcelona was :crazy1:

Re: 'mini-Wimbledon', well, i'd guess that the matches being best of 5 versus best of 3 could seem a more valid indicator too (of course just on the men's side)? Maybe they should mke the final a best of 5, like they do for the end of season Master's.

I like the idea of 2 events on grass being broadcast widely! Would make it feel more like a grass season (albeit still a small one!)

Just another aspect. I did think that the sudden appearance of Chinese tennis players on the WTA circuit in particular over the last 3 years more than a little suspicious.. I mean, I doubt that their lack of appearance in previous years had anything to do with not being good enough. :whistle:

:pray: that nobody boycotts the olympics like they say they will.

Perhaps for those who keep poo-pooing the Olympic tennis event :rolleyes: , perhaps you could listen to the end of Elena Dementieva's interview on the WTA website... :ok:

http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/2/multi...fault_video.asp

I like Dementieva, but the fact that she is prepared to say that her best moment in tennis was losing in a final of a non GS event may say more about her career than the status of the Oympics?

It came at a relatively early stage in her career and defeats to Venus Williams in 2000 were no disgrace. I guess that her losses to compatriots in the finals of RG and USO in 2004 when the traditional big beasts weren't the opponents were much more painful and less easy to enjoy.

Whatever - most people still rank those as her best achievements in singles.

I think I'll agree to disagree - I don't want to come across as a complete carmudgeon. I know that there are many people who love them, I am taking rather a purist attitude.

I tend to agree with those who say tennis doesn't really belong in the Olympics since it isn't the ultimate in the sport as the Olympics is in the vast majority of other events.

Though tennis isn't the only sport you could say that about - football anyone!

However since I don't have Sky or Eurosport tennis being in the Olympics means I get to watch a bit more televised tennis than usual so I can't complain about that!

Plus am definitely looking forward to going to Wimbledon to see live tennis without the hassle of the ballot!

I'm one of those who think Tennis shouldn't be in the Olympics.

Top Tennis players are lucky - they get a chance for glory four times a year in the slams. In many other sports, they have to wait four years for a moment of glory - and if their dream doesn't come true they have to try tto build up for another four years of toil and sweat - just look at Paula Radcliffe, she's a successful marathon runner but no olympic gold medal. For Tennis players it's not the ultimate.

Yeah but just because it's not the ultimate for tennis, doesn't mean it shouldn't be there... :shrug:

When I think Olympics I think sports that we don't see on TV often, the likes of weight lifting, badmington, swimming, hockey etc etc.

The last thng I want to see is players I see all the time on the regular tour and at the slams. They have enough chances for glory every single year of their careers as opposed to these sports having world championships and olympics probably every two years without the exposure to the public.

I didn't watch tennis at the Olympics in 2000 or 2004, I won't be watching it in 2008

yeah but to be honest alot of the tennis players when they are interviewed really love playing at the Olympics and are really proud to be included with the other sports people from their country... :ok:

That's fine for them.

I agree with you laurie. when was the last time you turned on the tv & watched a swim or gymnastics meet?. we can watch tennis, ice hockey, & golf anytime!!!!