A Guide to How Tennis Works at the Olympics

The world’s eyes are on Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff as they take to the courts in Tokyo to compete for Olympic glory in tennis. Djokovic, who has dominated the tennis world with numerous Grand Slam titles, is still missing an Olympic gold from his collection. On the other hand, the young and talented Gauff is looking to make a name for herself on the global stage while representing Team USA.

But how exactly does the tennis event at the Olympics work? The men’s and women’s singles events feature a field of 64 players, with matches played in a best-of-three sets format. To win a set, a player needs to reach six games, with a tiebreaker played if the score reaches 6-6. The scoring system, with its quirky terminology of “love,” “15,” “30,” and “40,” adds to the unique charm of the sport.

In doubles events, the rules remain the same, with the only difference being that a match level at one set all is decided by a tiebreak instead of a third set. The tournament follows a straight knockout bracket, with the winners of the semifinals competing for gold and silver, and the losers playing for bronze.

As Djokovic and Gauff, along with other top tennis stars, battle it out on the Olympic courts, fans around the world are eager to see who will come out on top and claim the prestigious gold medal. Stay tuned for all the thrilling action from the tennis event at the Tokyo Olympics.