Tennis at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Women's singles

Women's singles tennis
at the Games of the XXVI Olympiad
Women's singles tennis; at the Games of the XXVI Olympiad
	Gold medalist Lindsay Davenport (2013)
Venue	Stone Mountain Tennis Center
Dates	23 July–2 August 1996
Competitors	64 from 34 nations
Medalists
	← 1992 2000 →

Women's singles
Women's singles
Tennis at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Final
Champion	Lindsay Davenport (USA)
Runner-up	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (ESP)
Score	7–6(10–8), 6–2
Events

The United States' Lindsay Davenport defeated Spain's Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in the final, 7–6^(10–8), 6–2 to win the gold medal in Women's Singles tennis at the 1996 Summer Olympics. In the bronze-medal match, the Czech Republic's Jana Novotná defeated the United States' Mary Joe Fernández, 7–6^(10–8), 6–4. Sánchez Vicario became the second woman to win multiple Olympic tennis medals in singles (following Steffi Graf in 1988 and 1992); Fernández would have done so as well, but the rules had been changed since the last Games to add a bronze medal playoff match.

The tournament was held from 23 July to 2 August at the Stone Mountain Tennis Center, in Atlanta, Georgia of the United States of America.^[1] There were 64 competitors from 34 nations, with each nation having up to three players.^[1]

Jennifer Capriati was the defending champion from 1992, but she chose not to participate.

Background

This was the eighth appearance of the women's singles tennis. A women's event was held only once during the first three Games (only men's tennis was played in 1896 and 1904), but has been held at every Olympics for which there was a tennis tournament since 1908. Tennis was not a medal sport from 1928 to 1984, though there were demonstration events in 1968 and 1984.^[1]

Returning from the 1992 Games were both bronze medalists, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario of Spain and Mary Joe Fernández of the United States, as well as all four of the quarterfinal losers. Silver medalist (and 1988 champion) Steffi Graf was kept out by a knee injury. The U.S. team was strong even without defending champion Jennifer Capriati, with #1 seed Monica Seles, Fernandez, and Lindsay Davenport. Spain also sent a strong team, with Sánchez Vicario joined by Conchita Martínez as the next two seeds behind Seles.^[1]

Belarus, Chinese Taipei, Croatia, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, Luxembourg, Russia, Slovakia, and Tunisia each made their debut in the event. France and Great Britain each made their seventh appearance, tied for most among nations to that point.

Competition format

The competition was a single-elimination tournament, but with a significant change from 1988 and 1992. A bronze-medal match was held, unlike the previous two Games. Matches were best-of-three sets. The 12-point tie-breaker continued be used in any set, except the third, that reached 6–6.

Schedule

All times are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4)

Date	Time	Round
Tuesday, 23 July 1996 Wednesday, 24 July 1996		Round of 64
Thursday, 25 July 1996 Friday, 26 July 1996		Round of 32
Saturday, 27 July 1996 Sunday, 28 July 1996		Round of 16
Monday, 29 July 1996		Quarterfinals
Wednesday, 31 July 1996	11:00 13:00	Semifinals
Friday, 2 August 1996	11:00 13:00	Bronze medal match Final

Seeds

Monica Seles (USA) (quarterfinals)
Conchita Martínez (ESP) (quarterfinals)
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (ESP) (final, silver medalist)
Iva Majoli (CRO) (quarterfinals)
Anke Huber (GER) (third round)
Jana Novotná (CZE) (semifinals, bronze medalist)
Mary Joe Fernández (USA) (semifinals, fourth place)
Kimiko Date (JPN) (quarterfinals)
Lindsay Davenport (USA) (champion)
Magdalena Maleeva (BUL) (third round)
Brenda Schultz-McCarthy (NED) (third round)
Mary Pierce (FRA) (second round)
Gabriela Sabatini (ARG) (third round)
Amanda Coetzer (RSA) (second round)
Martina Hingis (SUI) (second round)
Karina Habšudová (SVK) (third round)

Draw

Key

Finals

Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Final (gold-medal match)

1	Monica Seles (USA)	5	6	6

6	Jana Novotná (CZE)	7	3	8
					6	Jana Novotná (CZE)	4	6	3

					3	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (ESP)	6	1	6
3	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (ESP)	4	6	10

8	Kimiko Date (JPN)	6	3	8
										3	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (ESP)	6⁸	2

										9	Lindsay Davenport (USA)	7	6
9	Lindsay Davenport (USA)	7	6

4	Iva Majoli (CRO)	5	3
					9	Lindsay Davenport (USA)	6	7		Bronze-medal match

					7/Alt	Mary Joe Fernández (USA)	2	6⁶
7/Alt	Mary Joe Fernández (USA)	3	6	6						6	Jana Novotná (CZE)	7	6

2	Conchita Martínez (ESP)	6	2	3						7/Alt	Mary Joe Fernández (USA)	6⁸	4

Top half

Section 1

First round					Second round					Third round				Quarterfinals

1	M Seles (USA)	6	6
WC	L-L Chen (CHN)	0	4		1	M Seles (USA)	6	6
Alt	P Hy-Boulais (CAN)	6	6		Alt	P Hy-Boulais (CAN)	3	2
	R Grande (ITA)	4	4							1	M Seles (USA)	6	6
Alt	A Gavaldón (MEX)	6	3	6						13	G Sabatini (ARG)	3	3
Alt	C Papadáki (GRE)	1	6	2	Alt	A Gavaldón (MEX)	4	0
	N Tauziat (FRA)	5	2		13	G Sabatini (ARG)	6	6
13	G Sabatini (ARG)	7	6											1	M Seles (USA)	5	6	6
15	M Hingis (SUI)	6	6											6	J Novotná (CZE)	7	3	8
WC	J Schad (DOM)	0	1		15	M Hingis (SUI)	4	4
	K Studeníková (SVK)	2	3			A Sugiyama (JPN)	6	6
	A Sugiyama (JPN)	6	6								A Sugiyama (JPN)	3	4
	J Wiesner (AUT)	7	6							6	J Novotná (CZE)	6	6
Alt	A Temesvári (HUN)	6⁵	4			J Wiesner (AUT)	4	6	3
	R Dragomir (ROM)	4	4	r	6	J Novotná (CZE)	6	3	6
6	J Novotná (CZE)	6	4

Section 2

First round					Second round				Third round				Quarterfinals

3	A Sánchez Vicario (ESP)	6	6
	D Van Roost (BEL)	1	4		3	A Sánchez Vicario (ESP)	6	6
	S Farina (ITA)	6	6			S Farina (ITA)	1	3
Alt	C Wood (GBR)	2	2						3	A Sánchez Vicario (ESP)	6	7
	J Kruger (RSA)	7	2	1					11	B Schultz-McCarthy (NED)	4	6⁷
WC	Y-J Choi (KOR)	6⁵	6	6	WC	Y-J Choi (KOR)	2	3
WC	S Sfar (TUN)	4	0		11	B Schultz-McCarthy (NED)	6	6
11	B Schultz-McCarthy (NED)	6	6										3	A Sánchez Vicario (ESP)	4	6	10
10	M Maleeva (BUL)	6	6										8	K Date (JPN)	6	3	8
WC	R Stubbs (AUS)	2	1		10	M Maleeva (BUL)	7	6
	E Makarova (RUS)	2	5			F Labat (ARG)	6⁷	1
	F Labat (ARG)	6	7						10	M Maleeva (BUL)	4	4
Alt	V Csurgó (HUN)	6	7						8	K Date (JPN)	6	6
WC	A Olsza (POL)	2	5		Alt	V Csurgó (HUN)	2	3
WC	D Randriantefy (MAD)	0	1		8	K Date (JPN)	6	6
8	K Date (JPN)	6	6

Bottom half

Section 3

First round					Second round					Third round					Quarterfinals

5	A Huber (GER)	2	6	6
WC	C Cristea (ROM)	6	4	2	5	A Huber (GER)	3	6	6
	M de Swardt (RSA)	7	3	7		M de Swardt (RSA)	6	1	4
	H Suková (CZE)	6⁴	6	5						5	A Huber (GER)	1	6	3
	N Sawamatsu (JPN)	6	4	6						9	L Davenport (USA)	6	3	6
Alt	S-H Park (KOR)	3	6	3		N Sawamatsu (JPN)	2	2
WC	A Kremer (LUX)	2	1		9	L Davenport (USA)	6	6
9	L Davenport (USA)	6	6												9	L Davenport (USA)	7	6
16	K Habšudová (SVK)	6	6												4	I Majoli (CRO)	5	3
	Y Basuki (INA)	3	3		16	K Habšudová (SVK)	7	6
	L Courtois (BEL)	1	6	6		L Courtois (BEL)	5	2
WC	A Kournikova (RUS)	6	2	2						16	K Habšudová (SVK)	4	6	4
	V Ruano Pascual (ESP)	6	6							4	I Majoli (CRO)	6	3	6
Alt	M Grzybowska (POL)	4	2			V Ruano Pascual (ESP)	5	3
	N Bradtke (AUS)	6	3	4	4	I Majoli (CRO)	7	6
4	I Majoli (CRO)	3	6	6

Section 4

First round					Second round					Third round				Quarterfinals

7/Alt	M J Fernández (USA)	6	6
	E Likhovtseva (RUS)	2	4		7/Alt	M J Fernández (USA)	7	2	6
	S-T Wang (TPE)	7	7			S-T Wang (TPE)	6⁴	6	1
Alt	A Serra Zanetti (ITA)	5	6⁵							7/Alt	M J Fernández (USA)	6	6
Alt	J-Q Yi (CHN)	2	6	1						WC	I Gorrochategui (ARG)	0	3
WC	I Gorrochategui (ARG)	6	1	6	WC	I Gorrochategui (ARG)	6	1	7
Alt	O Barabanschikova (BLR)	3	5		12	M Pierce (FRA)	4	6	5
12	M Pierce (FRA)	6	7											7/Alt	M J Fernández (USA)	3	6	6
14	A Coetzer (RSA)	6	7											2	C Martínez (ESP)	6	2	3
WC	R McQuillan (AUS)	4	6⁵		14	A Coetzer (RSA)	1	6	2
	S Appelmans (BEL)	5	3			N Zvereva (BLR)	6	4	6
	N Zvereva (BLR)	7	6								N Zvereva (BLR)	2	5
WC	R Zrubáková (SVK)	6	6							2	C Martínez (ESP)	6	7
WC	J Nejedly (CAN)	3	2		WC	R Zrubáková (SVK)	1	4
WC	P Schnyder (SUI)	1	2		2	C Martínez (ESP)	6	6
2	C Martínez (ESP)	6	6

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Singles, Women". Olympedia. Retrieved 16 July 2021.

ITF Olympic site

[Olympedia-1] "Singles, Women". Olympedia. Retrieved 16 July 2021.

[1]

v t e Olympic tennis women's singles champions
Demonstration	1968: Helga Niessen (FRG) 1984: Steffi Graf (FRG)
Indoor	1908: Gwendoline Eastlake-Smith (GBR) 1912: Edith Hannam (GBR)
Outdoor	1900: Charlotte Cooper (GBR) 1908: Dorothea Chambers (GBR) 1912: Marguerite Broquedis (FRA) 1920: Suzanne Lenglen (FRA) 1924: Helen Wills (USA) 1988: Steffi Graf (FRG) 1992: Jennifer Capriati (USA) 1996: Lindsay Davenport (USA) 2000: Venus Williams (USA) 2004: Justine Henin-Hardenne (BEL) 2008: Elena Dementieva (RUS) 2012: Serena Williams (USA) 2016: Monica Puig (PUR) 2020: Belinda Bencic (SUI) 2024: Zheng Qinwen (CHN)

v t e 1996 WTA Tour « 1995 1997 »
Grand Slam events	Australian Open (S, D, X) French Open (S, D, X) Wimbledon (S, D, X) US Open (S, D, X)
Tier I tournaments	Tokyo Indoor (S, D) Key Biscayne (S, D) Hilton Head (S, D) Rome (S, D) Berlin (S, D) Montreal (S, D) Zürich (S, D)
Tier II tournaments	Sydney (S, D) Paris (S, D) Essen (S, D) Indian Wells (S, D) Amelia Island (S, D) Hamburg (S, D) Madrid (S, D) Eastbourne (S, D) Manhattan Beach (S, D) San Diego (S, D) Tokyo (S, D) Leipzig (S, D) Filderstadt (S, D) Chicago (S, D) Oakland (S, D) Philadelphia (S, D)
Tier III tournaments	Oklahoma City (S, D) Linz (S, D) Jakarta (S, D) Tokyo Outdoor (S, D) Strasbourg (S, D) Birmingham (S, D) Rosmalen (S, D) Warsaw (S, D) Quebec City (S, D) Luxembourg (S, D) Moscow (S, D)
Tier IV tournaments	Auckland (S, D) Hobart (S, D) Bol (S, D) Budapest (S, D) Cardiff (S, D) Palermo (S, D) Maria Lankowitz (S, D) Karlovy Vary (S, D) Surabaya (S, D) Beijing (S, D) Pattaya (S, D)
Team events	Fed Cup
Chase Championships, New York (S, D) Summer Olympics, Atlanta (S, D) World Doubles Cup, Edinburgh (D)