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Tennis Icons Including Sampras and Sharapova Who Missed Olympic Gold

By Ghanshyam R

| Published: Wednesday, June 19, 2024, 13:21 [IST]

Despite achieving grand slam success, several tennis legends, including Pete Sampras and Maria Sharapova, never clinched Olympic gold in singles. Their remarkable careers highlight the challenges and elusive nature of Olympic success in tennis.

Tennis Icons Including Sampras and Sharapova Who Missed Olympic Gold

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American tennis legend John McEnroe was a dominant force on the ATP Tour, securing seven Grand Slam singles titles (3x Wimbledon, 4x US Open). He achieved the World No. 1 ranking and won 77 titles, the sixth highest in the Open Era. Despite his success, McEnroe never participated in the Olympics. The Games were not held during most of his career, as he went pro in 1978 and retired from singles in 1994.

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Chris Evert, another American, also had a brief Olympic stint. The former WTA World No. 1 was the second seed at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. After a first-round bye, Evert beat Italian wildcard Anna-Maria Cecchini and another Italian, Raffaella Reggi. However, her run ended in the third round against Bulgaria’s seventh seed, Manuela Maleeva.

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Martina Navratilova, regarded as one of the greatest ever to play the sport, has a less impressive Olympic record. Navratilova won an astounding 167 titles in her career but only participated in one Olympic Games—Athens 2004. She partnered with Lisa Raymond in the women’s doubles, reaching the quarterfinals before losing to Japan's Ai Sugiyama and Shinobu Asagoe.

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Swiss tennis star Roger Federer is unique on this list, having won Olympic gold in doubles. Federer played in four of the six Olympic Games held during his active years. He won the doubles gold in Beijing 2008 with Stan Wawrinka, defeating Sweden’s Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson. In singles, he came close in London 2012 but settled for silver after losing to Andy Murray.

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Novak Djokovic, the only active player on the list, has yet to win a singles gold medal. The 24-time Grand Slam champion from Serbia first competed in the 2008 Beijing Games. Despite several attempts, his best result remains a bronze medal in Beijing. Djokovic defeated James Blake (USA) for the bronze and narrowly missed out on gold in Tokyo 2020, finishing fourth.

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Russian tennis icon Maria Sharapova participated in just one Olympic Games, London 2012. She was seeded third in the women’s singles and dropped only one set en route to the gold medal match. Sharapova defeated Shahar Pe'er, Laura Robson, Sabine Lisicki, Kim Clijsters, and Maria Kirilenko. She lost to Serena Williams in the final, taking home the silver medal.

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Pete Sampras, another American great, only competed in one Olympic Games. The 14-time Grand Slam champion played at the 1992 Barcelona Games as the third seed. He beat Wally Masur and Jaime Yzaga but lost in the third round to Russia’s Andrei Cherkasov. Sampras retired in 2003 and did not compete in the 1996 or 2000 Olympics.

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