It just feels wrong (Olympic Tennis)

Member Name: iamasadlittleboy

Product:	Olympic Tennis
Date:	08/02/09 (276 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: More tennis on TV

Disadvantages: It's not got the same essence of the normal games

I saw this at Beijing last year and was thinking just how strange it was to actually see Tennis at an Olympics (I didn't realise until going through the Tennis results on Dooyoo that it's not the first time it's been held at an Olympics, so I'm learning something at 5:20 AM).

Now Tennis to me is based around the Grandslams and to a lesser extent the Masters and Opens series of competitions, trophies not medals. Professional athletes not people struggling to get government funding you know, so Tennis at the Olympics just seems out of place (rather like Football does to be honest). How many of you (the readers) could have told me who Natalia Partyka* or Vincent Hancock** were before the games, or for that matter can after the games? Now lets try it with Tennis players, how many of you can claim you have no idea who Andy Murray or Rafael Nadal are. Doesn't seem quite the same does it?

Tennis as an Olympic sport, has only been staged 15 times in the 112 years of the Olympics, having featured in all the ones between 1896 and 1924, then coming back in 1968 as a demonstration sport, before returning in 1984 where it's remained. The structure of the competition has changed slightly in recent years with the 1996 Atlanta games being the first where a play off is held for the Bronze medal, and as of 2004 ranking points can be earned in the tournament that count towards the ATP and WTA world rankings.

The inclusion of the sport has raised issues inside the tennis world it's self, with some seeing it as a bit of a pointless tournament (probably down to the lack of financial rewards in comparison to things like the Cincinnati Masters a week earlier). Most notably Mardy Fish and Andy Roddick's decision not to play in the 2008 games being notable absences to the roster (in fact of the top 20 men and women only 5 did not attend the games).

The 2008 games had a strange look in places for the medals, with Chilean Fernado Gonzalez winning the Silver Medal in the men's singles, the men's Doubles final was between Switzerland and Sweden, the Women's singles was a clean sweep for Russia whilst the Chinese Women took the bronze in the doubles.

Now I have no problem at all with Tennis being at the Olympics, despite it seeming strange, but if it is going to be there, why don't we get to add games, we, British folk, are actually good at? Lets throw in some Darts and Snooker, as they are of equal knowledge of the top players (at least here in Blighty, I reckon). My gripe is it feels out of place, it's great to watch, and some people do try to make it part of their season (in fact Roger Federer had made his intention to win a gold medal known, which he managed in the doubles), but it's just doesn't seem to have the intensity of the great games we have in the slams. You never hear people talking about the Kafelnikov V Haas final of 2000, or the Capriati V Graff final in 1992, like you do the other great games.

Tennis for me, is a personal sport, I'm not a fan of the Davis cup for the same reason, you're turning a personal (or paired) sport into a national team sport, this to me just feel wrong, it does in darts and snookers also. Team sports like Cricket, Rugby and Football should be played for national pride, but personal sports should be about personal glory, not the pride of a nation.


*Polish Table Tennis player
**American Shooter

Summary: A bit of a pointless addition to the players schedules imo