Winning a gold medal at the Olympics is a dream for any sportsperson and in tennis, it’s no different. Tennis had an on-and-off time in the Olympic program before becoming a regular in 1988.
Over the years, many notable players have made it to the podium as have several unknown players who later gained worldwide recognition courtesy of their Olympic performances. There have been a couple of players who have shone on the Olympic stage at a very young age.
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Here is a look at five of the youngest tennis gold medalists in Olympic history.
#5 Steffi Graf - 19 years, 109 days
Stefanie Maria Graf is considered to be one of the greatest tennis players of all-time and has won a total of 22 Grand Slam titles which includes winning all the four majors at least four times.
When tennis was re-introduced to the Olympic program at the 1988 Seoul Games, Graf was a heavy favourite coming into the tournament as she had a brilliant year so far, having already won all four Grand Slam titles which included a 6-0, 6-0 thrashing of Natasha Zvereva in a 32-minute final at the French Open.
The top seed had a brilliant outing at her maiden Olympics, beating Zina Garrison 6-2, 6-0 in the semi-final before defeating Argentina’s Gabriela Sabatini 6-3, 6-3 in the final which was a rematch of the US Open final. By winning the gold at the Seoul Olympics, Graf achieved the feat of a “Golden Slam” which no player has achieved to date. Undoubtedly, a great exponent of tennis.
#4 Marguerite Broquedis - 19 years, 78 days
Frenchwoman Marguerite Broquedis was one of the most highly regarded French tennis players of her time and had been nicknamed “the goddess” for being the only player to have ever beaten the legendary Suzanne Lenglen in a singles final when Broquedis beat a 15-year old Lenglen at the final of the French Open in 1914 when it was called the “French Championships”.
Broquedis was aged only 19 when she competed at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. Having given a bye to the quarter-finals, Broquedis beat Sweden’s Margareta Cederschiold in her opening match before defeating Norwegian Molla Bjurstedt in a tightly contested three-set semi-final to set up a final encounter against Germany’s Dora Koring.
After losing the first set 4-6, Broquedis staged a remarkable comeback to win the next two sets 6-3, 6-4 and clinch the gold medal. At the time, Broquedis was the youngest ever tennis gold medalist at the Olympics and held the record for twelve years.
#3 Serena Williams - 19 years, 1 day
One of the best tennis players of all-time, Serena Williams was a few weeks shy of 18 when she won her first Grand Slam at the US Open, beating Martina Hingis in the final in straight sets. During the Sydney Olympics, Serena did not play the Singles tournament but teamed up with her sister Venus for the women’s doubles tournament.
The unseeded duo had a comfortable outing in the first round before beating the Russian pair of Elena Likhovtseva and Anastasia Myskina in a three-setter to set up a quarter-final clash against the top-seeded French pair of Amelie Mauresmo and Julie Halard-Decugis. They beat them in straight sets before beating the 5th seeded Belgian pair of Els Callens and Dominique van Roost in the semis, also in straight sets.
In the gold medal match, the Williams sisters were up against the Dutch pair of Kristie Boogert and Miriam Oremans who they comprehensively beat 6-1, 6-1 just one day after Serena had celebrated her nineteenth birthday. The Williams sisters went on to win another two gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and at the 2012 London Olympics.
#2 Helen Wills - 18 years, 288 days
The late Helen Wills was one the best tennis players in her generation. Wills won a total of 31 Grand Slam titles including 19 Singles titles, which was the highest for any player before being overtaken by Margaret Court in 1970. Wills had held the No. 1 ranking for a total of nine years.
Aged only 18, Wills competed at the 1924 Paris Olympics and was in dominant form throughout the course of the entire competition as she won the gold medal, beating France’s Julie Vlasto in the final in straight sets. Wills hadn’t dropped a single set and dropped only 14 games throughout the entirety of the competition.
At the time, Wills was the youngest tennis gold medalist in Olympic history and had held the record for nearly seven decades.
#1 Jennifer Capriati - 16 years, 131 days
Jennifer Capriati is a former World No.1 tennis player and has won three Grand Slams in her career but she has been known for setting a number of youngest-ever feat during the early parts of her career. She made her professional debut aged 13 years and 11 months and the youngest player ever to reach the top 10 at the age of 14.
Capriati made her Olympic debut at the 1992 Barcelona Games aged only 16 and was seeded third at the competition. Capriati effortlessly beat all her opponents in her first four matches before setting up a semi-final clash against second-seeded Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. Capriati won the match in three sets and was up against top seed and reigning Olympic Champion Steffi Graf in the final. Graf took the first set but Capriati was resilient.
She fought back and won the second and third sets to clinch the match and the gold medal. In the process, she overtook Helen Wills as the youngest ever tennis gold medalist in Olympic history and so far, her record stands still and will surely not be broken for a long time.
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