| Event: | Men's outdoor singles tennis |
| Games: | 1908 Summer |
| Venue: | All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club |
| Dates: | 6 July (rounds 1–3) 7 July (rounds 2 and 3) 8 July (round 3) 9 July (quarterfinals) 10 July (semifinal) 11 July (semifinal, final) |
| Competitors: | 31 |
| Nations: | 9 |
| Longnames: | yes |
| Gold: | Major Ritchie |
| Goldnoc: | GBR |
| Silver: | Otto Froitzheim |
| Silvernoc: | GER |
| Bronze: | Wilberforce Eaves |
| Bronzenoc: | GBR |
| Prev: | 1904 |
| Next: | 1912 |
| Type: | olympics1908 |
| Quadrennial: | yes |
| Multi: | yes |
The men's (outdoor) singles was one of six lawn tennis events on the Tennis at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. The tournament was played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. There were 31 competitors from 9 nations. Nations could enter up to 12 players.[1] The event was won by Major Ritchie of Great Britain, the nation's third victory in four Games. Otto Froitzheim earned Germany's first medal in the event with his silver. Another Briton, Wilberforce Eaves, took bronze.
This was the fourth 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. In 1908, for the first time of two, an indoor version was held concurrently.
The top players did not compete in this event. Arthur Gore played only in the indoor event. William Larned, Norman Brookes, Anthony Wilding, and Laurence Doherty were noted absences.[2] [3] Major Ritchie was a solid player, having gone deep into Wimbledon multiple times but never having won in singles (he took doubles titles in 1908 and 1910 with Wilding).
Austria, Bohemia, Canada, the Netherlands, and South Africa each made their debut in the event. France, Germany, and Great Britain each made their third appearance, tied for most among all nations.
The competition was a single-elimination tournament. For the first time at the Olympics, a bronze medal match was played. All matches were best-of-five sets.
The schedule was impacted by rain, with matches adjourned overnight on occasion.
The Olympics started three days after the end of the 1908 Wimbledon Championships, a scheduling issue which the Official Report recommended avoiding in the future.[3]
| Date | Time | Round | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday, 6 July 1908 | Round of 64 Round of 32 Round of 16 | ||
| Tuesday, 7 July 1908 | Round of 32 Round of 16 | ||
| Wednesday, 8 July 1908 | Round of 16 Quarterfinals | ||
| Thursday, 9 July 1908 | Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals | ||
| Friday, 10 July 1908 | Quarterfinals Semifinals | ||
| Saturday, 11 July 1908 | Bronze medal match Final |
| Rank | Player | Nation | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left data-sort-value="Ritchie, Major" | Major Ritchie | W 6–1, 6–4, 6–1 | W 6–1, 6–4, 6–1 | W 6–0, 6–4r | W 2–6, 6–1, 6–4, 6–1 | W 7–5, 6–3, 6–4 | |||
| align=left data-sort-value="Froitzheim, Otto" | Otto Froitzheim | W 6–3, 6–1, 6–4 | W 6–2, 6–3, 6–3 | W 6–4, 11–9, 6–4 | W 6–4, 6–1, 5–7, 6–1 | W 2–6, 6–1, 6–4, 6–4 | L 7–5, 6–3, 6–4 | ||
| align=left data-sort-value="Eaves, Wilberforce" | Wilberforce Eaves | W 6–3, 6–1, 6–0 | W w/o | W 8–6, 7–5, 7–5 | W 6–3, 7–5, 6–3 | L 2–6, 6–1, 6–4, 6–1 | W 6–2, 6–2, 6–3 | ||
| 4 | align=left data-sort-value="Richardson, John" | John Richardson | W w/o | W 6–2, 6–4, 6–3 | W 6–3, 6–1, 6–0 | L 2–6, 6–1, 6–4, 6–4 | L 6–2, 6–2, 6–3 | ||
| 5 | align=left data-sort-value="Caridia, George" | George Caridia | W 6–1, 6–3, 6–1 | W 6–4, 3–6, 6–4, 6–2 | L 6–4, 6–1, 5–7, 6–1 | did not advance | |||
| align=left data-sort-value="Dixon, Charles P." | Charles P. Dixon | W 6–2, 7–5, 6–4 | W 6–1, 6–0, 6–0 | W 6–1, 6–2, 6–3 | L 6–3, 7–5, 6–3 | did not advance | |||
| align=left data-sort-value="Germot, Maurice" | Maurice Germot | W 7–5, 6–4, 6–2 | W w/o | L 6–0, 6–4r | did not advance | ||||
| align=left data-sort-value="Russell-Brown, Claude" | Claude Russell-Brown | W w/o | W 6–2, 6–1, 6–2 | L 6–3, 6–1, 6–0 | did not advance | ||||
| 9 | align=left data-sort-value="Bissing, Moritz von" | Moritz von Bissing | W w/o | W 6–1, 6–4, 6–4 | L 8–6, 7–5, 7–5 | did not advance | |||
| align=left data-sort-value="Crawley, Walter" | Walter Crawley | W w/o | L 6–1, 6–4, 6–1 | did not advance | |||||
| align=left data-sort-value="Foulkes, J. F." | J. F. Foulkes | W 6–2, 6–4, 6–3 | L 6–2, 6–4, 6–3 | did not advance | |||||
| align=left data-sort-value="Hykš, Bohuslav" | Bohuslav Hykš | W w/o | W 7–5, 6–4, 3–6, 6–0 | L 6–1, 6–2, 6–3 | did not advance | ||||
| align=left data-sort-value="Parke, James Cecil" | James Cecil Parke | W w/o | W 6–1, 6–3, 6–2 | L 6–4, 11–9, 6–4 | did not advance | ||||
| align=left data-sort-value="Powell, Robert" | Robert Powell | W 6–4, 6–1, 6–2 | W 2–6, 6–0, 6–4, 6–1 | L 6–4, 3–6, 6–4, 6–2 | did not advance | ||||
| align=left data-sort-value="Slíva, David" | David Slíva | W w/o | L 6–2, 6–1, 6–2 | did not advance | |||||
| 16 | align=left data-sort-value="Gauntlett, Victor" | Victor Gauntlett (tennis) | L 6–1, 6–4, 6–1 | did not advance | |||||
| align=left data-sort-value="Kitson, Harold" | Harold Kitson | L 6–1, 6–3, 6–1 | did not advance | ||||||
| align=left data-sort-value="Kreuzer, Oscar" | Oscar Kreuzer | W 6–3, 6–1, 6–4 | L 6–2, 6–3, 6–3 | did not advance | |||||
| align=left data-sort-value="Lauber, Dezső" | Dezső Lauber | L 6–1, 6–0, 6–0 | did not advance | ||||||
| align=left data-sort-value="Schomburgk, Heinrich" | Heinrich Schomburgk | L 7–5, 6–4, 6–2 | did not advance | ||||||
| align=left data-sort-value="Tóth, Ede" | Ede Tóth | W 6–3, 2–1r | L 6–1, 6–3, 6–2 | did not advance | |||||
| align=left data-sort-value="van Lennep, Roelof" | Roelof van Lennep | L 6–2, 6–4, 6–3 | did not advance | ||||||
| align=left data-sort-value="Zborzil, Arthur" | Arthur Zborzil | W w/o | L 6–1, 6–4, 6–4 | did not advance | |||||
| align=left data-sort-value="Žemla, Ladislav" | Ladislav Žemla | W w/o | L 2–6, 6–0, 6–4, 6–1 | did not advance | |||||
| align=left data-sort-value="Zsigmondy, Jenő" | Jenő Zsigmondy | W w/o | L 7–5, 6–4, 3–6, 6–0 | did not advance | |||||
| 26 | align=left data-sort-value="Kenneth, Powell" | Kenneth Powell | L 6–3, 6–1, 6–4 | did not advance | |||||
| align=left data-sort-value="Kinzl, [Rolf"| [[Rolf Kinzl]]|align=left| | L 6–3, 6–1, 6–0|colspan=5| did not advance|-|align=left data-sort-value="Mičovský, Josef"| Josef Mičovský|align=left| | L 6–3, 2–1r|colspan=5| did not advance|-|align=left data-sort-value="Pipes, Felix"| Felix Pipes|align=left| | L 6–3, 6–1, 6–4|colspan=5| did not advance|-|align=left data-sort-value="Rahe, Friedrich Wilhelm"| Friedrich Wilhelm Rahe|align=left| | L 6–2, 7–5, 6–4|colspan=5| did not advance|-|align=left data-sort-value="van Lennep, Christiaan"| Christiaan van Lennep|align=left| | L 6–4, 6–1, 6–2|colspan=5| did not advance|-|rowspan=14 data-sort-value=32| —|align=left data-sort-value="Barrett, Herbert Roper"| Herbert Roper Barrett|align=left| | L w/o|colspan=5| did not advance|-|align=left data-sort-value="Bissing, Moritz von"| G Ball-Greene|align=left| | L w/o|colspan=5| did not advance|-|align=left data-sort-value="Decugis, Max"| Max Decugis|align=left| | | L w/o|colspan=4| did not advance|-|align=left data-sort-value="Doherty, Laurence"| Laurence Doherty|align=left| | L w/o|colspan=5| did not advance|-|align=left data-sort-value="Gore, Arthur"| Arthur Gore|align=left| | L w/o|colspan=5| did not advance|-|align=left data-sort-value="Hillyard, George"| George Hillyard|align=left| | | L w/o|colspan=4| did not advance|-|align=left data-sort-value="Ivánka, L."| L. Ivánka|align=left| | L w/o|colspan=5| did not advance|-|align=left data-sort-value="Károly, Vitus"| Vitus Károly|align=left| | | W w/o| L w/o|colspan=3| did not advance|-|align=left data-sort-value="Rössler-Ořovský, Josef"| Josef Rössler-Ořovský|align=left| | L w/o|colspan=5| did not advance|-|align=left data-sort-value="Schmid, Ödön"| Ödön Schmid|align=left| | L w/o|colspan=5| did not advance|-|align=left data-sort-value="Suckling, Hedley"| Hedley Suckling|align=left| | | L w/o|colspan=4| did not advance|-|align=left data-sort-value="Wessely, Kurt von"| Kurt von Wessely|align=left| | W w/o| L w/o|colspan=4| did not advance|-|align=left data-sort-value="Žemla, Jaroslav"| Jaroslav Žemla|align=left| | | L w/o|colspan=4| did not advance|-|align=left data-sort-value="Žemla, Zdeněk"| Zdeněk Žemla|align=left| | | L w/o|colspan=4| did not advance|} External links
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