The ITF announced today the direct acceptance list for the 2008 Olympic Tennis Event in singles and doubles.
Led by world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, 18 of the top 20 women will compete in Beijing.
For both men and women, this is the strongest field ever to enter the Olympic Tennis Event since tennis returned as a full medal sport in Seoul 1988.
Fifty-six players are entered based on their singles ranking of 9 June 2008, following Roland Garros, with a limit of four singles players per gender per country. Players must also be in good standing with their National Association and have met the minimum participation requirements for Fed Cup.
Seven of the top ten women will compete in Beijing with only Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) declining to participate and Marion Bartoli (FRA) who is ineligible.
The Olympic Tennis Event will be played from Sunday, August 10, through Sunday, August 17, 2008 at the new Olympic Tennis Center in Beijing, China. The 2004 Olympic gold medalists were Justine Henin (BEL) and Ting Li/Tian Tian Sun (CHN).
Tennis was a part of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. The first woman to win an Olympic medal in any sport was tennis player Charlotte Cooper (GBR) at the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris. After the 1924 Paris Games, tennis withdrew from the Olympics but returned as a demonstration event in 1984 Los Angeles and returned as a full medal sport in 1988 Seoul.
Women’s Singles Entry List (PDF)
Women’s Doubles Entry List (PDF)
Player entry lists courtesy of the International Tennis Federation.
