The men's singles was an event on the
tennis at the 1900 Summer Olympics program in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. It was held on 6 July and 11 July 1900. A total of 13 players from three nations competed, with two additional players withdrawing. This was the first time in Olympic history that Great Britain had a medal sweep in an event.
Laurence Doherty
Hugh Laurence Doherty (8 October 1875 – 21 August 1919) was a British tennis player and the younger brother of tennis player Reginald Doherty. He was a six-time Grand Slam champion and a double Olympic Gold medalist at the Tennis at the 1900 ...
took top honors, beating
Harold Mahony in the final. Laurence's brother Reginald refused to play Laurence in the semifinals and forfeited; he and
Arthur Norris are considered bronze medalists.
Background
This was the second appearance of the men's singles tennis. The event has been held at every Summer Olympics where tennis has been on the program: from 1896 to 1924 and then from 1988 to the current program. Demonstration events were held in 1968 and 1984.
The Doherty brothers of Great Britain were heavily favored.
had just won his fourth straight
The Championships, Wimbledon
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
singles title.
Laurence Doherty
Hugh Laurence Doherty (8 October 1875 – 21 August 1919) was a British tennis player and the younger brother of tennis player Reginald Doherty. He was a six-time Grand Slam champion and a double Olympic Gold medalist at the Tennis at the 1900 ...
would later win five (1902–1906). Their strongest competition was likely
Harold Mahony, who had won Wimbledon in 1896 and the European championship in 1899.
Max Decugis
Maxime Omer Mathieu Decugis or Décugis (; 24 September 1882 – 6 September 1978) was a French tennis player. He won the French Championships eight times (a French club members-only tournament before 1925). He also won three Olympic medals at ...
was the strongest non-British player (and would win 8 French championships after the Games), but he withdrew;
André Prévost was the 1900 French runner-up.
The United States made its debut in the event. France and Great Britain both made their second appearance.
Competition format
The competition was a single-elimination tournament with no bronze-medal match (both semifinal losers tied for third). All matches before the final were best-of-three sets; the final was best-of-five sets.
Schedule
Draw
Finals
Results summary
External links
ITF, 2008 Olympic Tennis Event Media Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tennis at the 1900 Summer Olympics - Men's singles
Men's singles
Men's events at the 1900 Summer Olympics