The Olympic Games are amongst the most prestigious events on the tennis calendar, but not every great of the sport has managed to shine at the tournament. This includes Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova and more.
Tennis has a rocky history at the Olympic Games. It was part of the sporting extravaganza’s opening edition in 1896 and was on the roster until 1926. It returned to the Olympic schedule in 1988 and has remained an integral part of it since. Many tennis greats have shined at the Summer Games, but not all.
Having said that, let’s take a look at the seven greatest tennis players who have never won the singles gold medal at the Olympic Games:
#7 John McEnroe
American tennis legend John McEnroe dominated the ATP Tour with seven Grand Slam singles titles (3x Wimbledon Championships, 4x US Open). He rose to the World No. 1 ranking and won 77 titles on the tour, the sixth highest in the Open Era. However, McEnroe never got an opportunity to participate in the Olympics.
Part of the reason is that the Olympics were not organized during the majority of his active years. McEnroe turned pro in 1978 and retired from the singles game in 1994.
#6 Martina Navratilova
The great Martina Navratilova does not have a remarkable record at the Olympic Games. She is arguably the best to have ever played the sport, having won an unbelievable 167 titles during her career. Navratilova participated in just one Olympic Games during her 32-year career, in Athens in 2004.
She competed in the women’s doubles category and paired with Lisa Raymond. They were seeded No. 3 and defeated Ukrainian pair Yuliya Beygelzimer and Tatiana Perebiynis and French duo Amelie Mauresmo and Mary Pierce to reach the quarterfinals. Ai Sugiyama and Shinobu Asagoe of Japan put an end to Navratilova and Raymond’s run in the quarterfinals.
#5 Pete Sampras
Another American makes the list. Pete Sampras, like Navratilova, also participated in just one Olympic Games during his career. The 14-time Grand Slam champion participated in the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain, and was seeded No. 3 in the men’s singles draw.
Pete Sampras defeated Wally Masur of Australia and Jaime Yzaga of Peru before losing to No. 13—Russia’s Andrei Cherkasov in a five-setter in the third round. The American, who retired from tennis in 2003, did not play in the 1996 Athens Games or the 2000 Sydney Games.
#4 Chris Evert
Chris Evert is the fourth and last American on this list. Like the previous two players on this list, the former WTA World No. 1 also participated in just one Olympic Games during the course of her career. Evert was the second seed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.
Following a first-round bye, Evert defeated Italian wildcard Anna-Maria Cecchini in the second round and another Italian, Raffaella Reggi, in the third. The American’s run came to an end in the third round at the hands of Manuela Maleeva, the seventh seed from Bulgaria.
#3 Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is the only active player on the list, and he could still win a singles gold medal at the 2024 Paris Games. The Olympics is the only major tournament the Serb has not mastered in his career. The 24-time Grand Slam champion made his debut at the 2008 Beijing Games and has since competed four times for Serbia.
Djokovic won the bronze medal in the singles category in Beijing, which is his best result at the tournament thus far. The 37-year-old defeated Robert Ginepri (USA), Rainer Schuttler (Germany), Mikhail Youzhny (Russia), and Gael Monfils (France) to reach the semifinals, where he lost to Rafael Nadal (Spain).
Djokovic defeated James Blake (USA) in the bronze medal match in Beijing. The only other time he came close to winning the gold medal was at Tokyo 2020, where he finished fourth in the singles and mixed doubles categories.
#2 Roger Federer
Unlike others on this list, Swiss maverick Roger Federer is a gold medalist. But that accolade came in the men’s doubles category, not singles. Federer played in four Olympic Games out of the six organized during his active years. He finished fourth in his debut at Sydney 2000.
Eight years later, in Beijing 2008, the former ATP World No. 1 won the doubles gold medal alongside Stan Wawrinka. The Swiss duo defeated Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson of Sweden in the gold medal match. In the singles category, Federer came very close to winning the gold medal at London 2012. Unfortunately, he had to go home with a silver medal after coming up short against home hero Andy Murray.
#1 Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova, the Russian trailblazer, only competed in one Olympic Games in her career, out of the four that were organized during her active years (2001–2020). Sharapova made her Olympic debut at London 2012 as the third seed in the women’s singles draw.
Sharapova dropped only one set while defeating Shahar Pe’er (Israel), Laura Robson (UK), Sabine Lisicki (Germany), Kim Clijsters (Belgium), and compatriot Maria Kirilenko to reach the gold medal match. However, she had to settle for the silver medal after being trounced by Serena Williams (USA).
