# Tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Qualification for tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China was determined not by any form of qualifying tournament, but by the rankings maintained by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA).

## Qualifying criteria

The main qualifying criteria were the ATP and WTA ranking lists as of June 9, 2008. The players entering were formally submitted by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The ATP and WTA rankings were based on performances from the previous 52 weeks, and there were several tournaments, including the 2008 Wimbledon Championships, in the two-month period between the time of the rankings being frozen for entry, and the beginning of the tennis events at the Olympics. This led one player, Rainer Schüttler, who rose the ATP rankings considerably in that time period, to successfully seek arbitration on the matter and gain entry. Another player, Tamarine Tanasugarn who was outside the ranking places that could qualify on July 9, but re-entered them, like Schuettler, gained entry; although she did so through the Tripartite Commission Invitation places after Stephanie Vogt withdrew.
Each National Olympic Committee (NOC) could enter 6 men and 6 women athletes, with a maximum of 4 entries in the individual events, and 2 pairs in the doubles events. This resulted in several high-ranked players being unable to enter, despite players of lower-rank being able to. For example, Vera Zvonareva, world number 13, would not have been entered had all the Russian players ahead of her done so, and world number 21, Nadia Petrova, was unable to participate (the top four Russian women players were all in the world's top eight). In the men's, a notably high-ranked player who could not gain entry was world number 20 Fernando Verdasco of Spain. However, any player in the world's top 56 was eligible, and NOC's had the option to enter players of a lower rank. Athletes were able to compete in both single and doubles events.
Singles:
* 56 players directly qualified for the singles event based on the recognised World Ranking of 9 June 2008. Any player qualified for the singles event was automatically eligible for entry in the doubles event.
* 2 Invitation places in each singles event were allocated by the Tripartite Commission.
* 6 final qualification places in the singles event were allocated by the ITF based on the recognised World Ranking and the continental/NOC representation.
Doubles:
* 10 players directly qualified for the doubles event based on the recognised World Ranking of 9 June 2008.
* Final qualification places were allocated by the ITF to doubles players based on the recognised World Ranking and the continental/NOC representation, until a total of 86 places have been allocated.
The ITF places were allocated by the ITF, based on recognized world ranking and continental/NOC participation.

## Summary

A total of 48 nations were represented by at least one player in either the men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, or women's doubles.
| Nation | Men | Men | Women | Women | Total |
| Nation | Singles | Doubles | Singles | Doubles | Total |
| Argentina | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2(1) | 6 |
| Australia | 2 | 4(2) | 3 | 4(1) | 8 |
| Austria | 1 | 2(1) | 1 | | 3 |
| Bahamas | 1 | 2(1) | | | 2 |
| Belarus | 1 | | 2 | 4(2) | 5 |
| Belgium | 2 | 2 | | | 2 |
| Brazil | 2 | 2(2) | | | 4 |
| Bulgaria | | | 1 | | 1 |
| Canada | 2 | 2(1) | | | 3 |
| Chile | 2 | 2 | | | 2 |
| China | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4(1) | 8 |
| Chinese Taipei | 1 | | 1 | 2(1) | 3 |
| Croatia | 1 | | | | 1 |
| Czech Republic | 4 | 4(2) | 4 | 4(1) | 11 |
| Denmark | | | 1 | | 1 |
| Ecuador | 1 | | | | 1 |
| El Salvador | 1 | | | | 1 |
| Estonia | | | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Finland | 1 | | | | 1 |
| France | 4 | 4(1) | 3 | 4(1) | 9 |
| Germany | 2 | 2 | | | 2 |
| Great Britain | 1 | 2(1) | | | 2 |
| Greece | | | 1 | 2(1) | 2 |
| Hungary | | | 1 | 2(1) | 2 |
| India | | 2(2) | 1 | 2(1) | 4 |
| Israel | | 2(2) | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Italy | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4(1) | 8 |
| Japan | 1 | | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Latvia | 1 | | | | 1 |
| New Zealand | | | 1 | | 1 |
| Poland | | 2(2) | 2 | 4(2) | 6 |
| Romania | 1 | | 1 | | 2 |
| Russia | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4(1) | 9 |
| Serbia | 2 | 2(1) | 1 | | 4 |
| Slovakia | 1 | | 2 | 2(1) | 4 |
| South Africa | 1 | 2(1) | | | 2 |
| South Korea | 1 | | | | 1 |
| Spain | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4(1) | 9 |
| Sweden | 3 | 4(1) | 1 | | 5 |
| Switzerland | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2(1) | 5 |
| Thailand | | | 1 | | 1 |
| Togo | 1 | | | | 1 |
| Tunisia | | | 1 | | 1 |
| Ukraine | | | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| United States | 3 | 4(2) | 3 | 4(2) | 10 |
| Uzbekistan | | | 1 | | 1 |
| Venezuela | | | 1 | | 1 |
| Zimbabwe | | | 1 | | 1 |
| Total: 48 NOCs | 64 | 64(22) | 64 | 64(20) | 170 |
* Number in brackets = players participating only in doubles

## Qualifiers
### Men's singles

| No. | Rank | Player | NOC |
| World Ranking ||||
| 1 | 1 | Roger Federer | Switzerland |
| 2 | 2 | Rafael Nadal | Spain |
| 3 | 3 | Novak Djokovic | Serbia |
| 4 | 4 | Nikolay Davydenko | Russia |
| 5 | 5 | David Ferrer | Spain |
| — | 6 | Andy Roddick | United States |
| 6 | 7 | James Blake | United States |
| 7 | 8 | David Nalbandian | Argentina |
| 8 | 9 | Stanislas Wawrinka | Switzerland |
| — | 10 | Richard Gasquet | France |
| 9 | 11 | Andy Murray | Great Britain |
| 10 | 12 | Tomáš Berdych | Czech Republic |
| 11 | 13 | Nicolás Almagro | Spain |
| — | 14 | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | France |
| 12 | 15 | Fernando González | Chile |
| 13 | 16 | Radek Štěpánek | Czech Republic |
| 14 | 17 | Paul-Henri Mathieu | France |
| 15 | 18 | Mikhail Youzhny | Russia |
| 16 | 19 | Tommy Robredo | Spain |
| — | 20 | Fernando Verdasco | Spain |
| 17 | 21 | Juan Mónaco | Argentina |
| — | 22 | Ivo Karlović | Croatia |
| — | 23 | Marcos Baghdatis | Cyprus |
| — | 24 | Juan Carlos Ferrero | Spain |
| 18 | 25 | Jarkko Nieminen | Finland |
| — | 26 | Carlos Moyá | Spain |
| — | 27 | Ivan Ljubičić | Croatia |
| 19 | 28 | Gilles Simon | France |
| 20 | 29 | Dmitry Tursunov | Russia |
| 21 | 30 | Lleyton Hewitt | Australia |
| 22 | 31 | Andreas Seppi | Italy |
| 23 | 32 | Gaël Monfils | France |
| — | 33 | Feliciano López | Spain |
| 24 | 34 | Igor Andreev | Russia |
| 25 | 35 | Michaël Llodra | France |
| — | 36 | Mardy Fish | United States |
| — | 37 | Tommy Haas | Germany |
| 26 | 38 | Nicolas Kiefer | Germany |
| 27 | 39 | Janko Tipsarević | Serbia |
| — | 40 | Philipp Kohlschreiber | Germany |
| 28 | 41 | Sam Querrey | United States |
| 29 | 42 | Robin Söderling | Sweden |
| — | 43 | Julien Benneteau | France |
| — | 44 | Mario Ančić | Croatia |
| — | 45 | Juan Ignacio Chela | Argentina |
| — | 46 | Nicolas Mahut | France |
| 30 | 47 | Simone Bolelli | Italy |
| 31 | 48 | Guillermo Cañas | Argentina |
| 32 | 49 | Agustín Calleri | Argentina |
| — | 50 | José Acasuso | Argentina |
| 33 | 51 | Ernests Gulbis | Latvia |
| — | 52 | Fabrice Santoro | France |
| 34 | 53 | Steve Darcis | Belgium |
| — | 54 | Marcel Granollers | Spain |
| 35 | 55 | Lee Hyung-Taik | South Korea |
| 36 | 56 | Marin Čilić | Croatia |
| — | 57 | Marc Gicquel | France |
| 37 | 58 | Potito Starace | Italy |
| 38 | 59 | Robby Ginepri | United States |
| — | 60 | Sébastien Grosjean | France |
| — | 61 | Eduardo Schwank | Argentina |
| — | 62 | Robin Haase | Netherlands |
| 39 | 63 | Nicolás Lapentti | Ecuador |
| — | 64 | Juan Martín del Potro | Argentina |
| — | 65 | Dudi Sela | Israel |
| — | 66 | Denis Gremelmayr | Germany |
| 40 | 67 | Olivier Rochus | Belgium |
| 41 | 68 | Thomaz Bellucci | Brazil |
| 42 | 69 | Thomas Johansson | Sweden |
| — | 70 | Albert Montañés | Spain |
| 43 | 70$^{PR(289)}$ | Dominik Hrbatý | Slovakia |
| 44 | 71 | Ivo Minář | Czech Republic |
| 45 | 72 | Victor Hănescu | Romania |
| 46 | 73 | Lu Yen-Hsun | Chinese Taipei |
| — | 74 | Stefan Koubek | Austria |
| 47 | 75 | Marcos Daniel | Brazil |
| — | 76 | Marat Safin | Russia |
| — | 77 | Florent Serra | France |
| — | 78 | Igor Kunitsyn | Russia |
| 48 | 79 | Chris Guccione | Australia |
| — | 80 | Santiago Ventura | Spain |
| 49 | 81 | Jürgen Melzer | Austria |
| 50 | 82 | Jiří Vaněk | Czech Republic |
| — | 83 | Michael Berrer | Germany |
| — | 84 | John Isner | United States |
| — | 85 | Evgeny Korolev | Russia |
| — | 86 | Arnaud Clément | France |
| — | 87 | Martín Vassallo Argüello | Argentina |
| — | 88 | Donald Young | United States |
| 51 | 89 | Rainer Schüttler | Germany |
| 52 | 90 | Frank Dancevic | Canada |
| 53 | 248 | Frédéric Niemeyer | Canada |
| 54 | 570 | Zeng Shao-Xuan | China |
| 55 | 605 | Yu Xinyuan | China |
| 56 | 936 | Devin Mullings | Bahamas |
| ITF places ||||
| 57 | 98 | Kevin Anderson | South Africa |
| 58 | 103 | Kei Nishikori | Japan |
| 59 | 128 | Jonas Björkman | Sweden |
| 60 | 131 | Nicolás Massú | Chile |
| 61 | 300 | Max Mirnyi | Belarus |
| 62 | 489 | Sun Peng | China |
| Tripartite Commission Invitation ||||
| 63 | 438 | Komlavi Loglo | Togo |
| 64 | 447 | Rafael Arevalo | El Salvador |
PR Protected/Special Ranking
Rankings as at 9 June 2008

#### Schüttler entry controversy

On August 4, 2008, German player Rainer Schüttler was granted an exceptional entry into the tournament, despite not having qualified under the original criteria, after having taken his campaign to play at the games to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Schuettler, who was an alternate for Denis Gremelmayr, was ranked outside the qualifying places on June 9, when the players entered for the Games, based upon the ATP rankings of that date, were announced by the ITF. Schüttler then went on to the 2008 Wimbledon Championships, where he reached the semi-finals, elevating his ranking from No. 94 to No. 31 in the world. Germany had received one place in the men's singles, based upon the rankings of June 9, although several players withdrew before the Games. Schüttler was subsequently selected by the German Olympic Committee (Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund, DOS), in spite of the regulations set out by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), under which he was designated as an alternate. On August 3, Schüttler took his case to CAS, who the next day ruled in his favour, saying that it was in compliance with the ITF's rules, and asserting that there was an understanding that the decision over which player could be entered would be delegated to the relevant National Olympic Committee. The ITF delivered a hostile response to the decision by CAS, claiming the DOS was ignorant, and admonishing Schüttler's actions — "While recognising the German NOC may not understand how professional tennis works, there is no excuse for Mr Schuettler, who is prepared to take a place earned by his compatriot Denis Gremelmayr and of next alternate Michael Berrer."

### Women's singles

| No. | Rank | Player | NOC |
| World Ranking ||||
| — | 1 | Ana Ivanovic | Serbia |
| — | 2 | Maria Sharapova | Russia |
| 1 | 3 | Jelena Janković | Serbia |
| 2 | 4 | Svetlana Kuznetsova | Russia |
| 3 | 5 | Elena Dementieva | Russia |
| 4 | 6 | Serena Williams | United States |
| 5 | 7 | Venus Williams | United States |
| — | 8 | Anna Chakvetadze | Russia |
| 6 | 9 | Dinara Safina | Russia |
| — | 10 | Marion Bartoli | France |
| 7 | 11 | Daniela Hantuchová | Slovakia |
| 8 | 12 | Patty Schnyder | Switzerland |
| 9 | 13 | Vera Zvonareva | Russia |
| 10 | 14 | Agnieszka Radwańska | Poland |
| 11 | 15 | Ágnes Szávay | Hungary |
| 12 | 16 | Victoria Azarenka | Belarus |
| 13 | 17 | Alizé Cornet | France |
| 14 | 18 | Francesca Schiavone | Italy |
| 15 | 19 | Nicole Vaidišová | Czech Republic |
| — | 20 | Tatiana Golovin | France |
| — | 21 | Nadia Petrova | Russia |
| 16 | 22 | Flavia Pennetta | Italy |
| — | 23 | Maria Kirilenko | Russia |
| — | 24 | Katarina Srebotnik | Slovenia |
| 17 | 25 | Shahar Pe'er | Israel |
| — | 26 | Lindsay Davenport | United States |
| 18 | 27 | Virginie Razzano | France |
| — | 27$^{PR(NR)}$ | Mary Pierce | France |
| 19 | 28 | Sybille Bammer | Austria |
| 20 | 29 | Alona Bondarenko | Ukraine |
| — | 30 | Amélie Mauresmo | France |
| 21 | 31 | Dominika Cibulková | Slovakia |
| 22 | 32 | Caroline Wozniacki | Denmark |
| 23 | 33 | Sania Mirza | India |
| 24 | 34 | Kaia Kanepi | Estonia |
| 25 | 35 | Anabel Medina Garrigues | Spain |
| 26 | 35$^{PR(153)}$ | Mara Santangelo | Italy |
| 27 | 36 | Olga Govortsova | Belarus |
| 28 | 36$^{PR(162)}$ | Samantha Stosur | Australia |
| 29 | 37 | Eleni Daniilidou | Greece |
| 30 | 38 | Ai Sugiyama | Japan |
| — | 39 | Karin Knapp | Italy |
| 31 | 40 | Tsvetana Pironkova | Bulgaria |
| 32 | 41 | Casey Dellacqua | Australia |
| 33 | 42 | Gisela Dulko | Argentina |
| 34 | 43 | Yan Zi | China |
| — | 44 | Elena Vesnina | Russia |
| 35 | 45 | Li Na | China |
| — | 46 | Alisa Kleybanova | Russia |
| 36 | 47 | Lucie Šafářová | Czech Republic |
| 37 | 48 | Iveta Benešová | Czech Republic |
| 38 | 49 | Carla Suárez Navarro | Spain |
| 39 | 50$^{PR(158)}$ | Milagros Sequera | Venezuela |
| 40 | 50 | Peng Shuai | China |
| 41 | 51 | Klára Zakopalová | Czech Republic |
| — | 52 | Petra Cetkovská | Czech Republic |
| — | 53 | Michaëlla Krajicek | Netherlands |
| 42 | 54 | Akgul Amanmuradova | Uzbekistan |
| — | 55 | Tamira Paszek | Austria |
| 43 | 56 | Pauline Parmentier | France |
| 44 | 57 | Sofia Arvidsson | Sweden |
| — | 58 | Vera Dushevina | Russia |
| — | 59 | Aravane Rezaï | France |
| — | 60 | Petra Kvitová | Czech Republic |
| 45 | 60$^{PR(133)}$ | Zheng Jie | China |
| 46 | 61 | Sara Errani | Italy |
| — | 62 | Ekaterina Makarova | Russia |
| 47 | 63 | Tatiana Perebiynis | Ukraine |
| 48 | 64 | Marina Erakovic | New Zealand |
| 49 | 65 | Marta Domachowska | Poland |
| 50 | 66 | Sorana Cîrstea | Romania |
| 51 | 67 | Timea Bacsinszky | Switzerland |
| 52 | 69 | Kateryna Bondarenko | Ukraine |
| — | 70 | Anastasia Rodionova | Russia |
| — | 72 | Edina Gallovits | Romania |
| — | 73 | Akiko Morigami | Japan |
| — | 74 | Ashley Harkleroad | United States |
| 53 | 75 | Jill Craybas | United States |
| 54 | 101 | Maret Ani | Estonia |
| 55 | 120 | Tzipora Obziler | Israel |
| 56 | 140 | María José Martínez Sánchez | Spain |
| ITF places ||||
| 57 | 68 | Mariya Koryttseva | Ukraine |
| 58 | 71 | Chan Yung-Jan | Chinese Taipei |
| 59 | 89 | Tamarine Tanasugarn | Thailand |
| 60 | 102 | Nuria Llagostera Vives | Spain |
| 61 | 105 | Ayumi Morita | Japan |
| 62 | 115 | Alicia Molik | Australia |
| 63 | 159 | Selima Sfar | Tunisia |
| Tripartite Commission Invitation ||||
| — | 227 | Stephanie Vogt | Liechtenstein |
| 64 | NR | Cara Black | Zimbabwe |
PR Protected/Special Rankings
Rankings as at 9 June 2008

### Men's doubles

| No. | Rank | Player A | Rank | Player B | NOC |
| World Ranking ||||||
| 1 | 1 | Bob Bryan | 1 | Mike Bryan | United States |
| 2 | 3 | Daniel Nestor | | Frédéric Niemeyer^ | Canada |
| 3 | 4 | Nenad Zimonjić | | Novak Djokovic^ | Serbia |
| 4 | 5 | Mark Knowles | | Devin Mullings^ | Bahamas |
| 5 | 6 | Pavel Vízner | | Martin Damm | Czech Republic |
| 6 | 7 | Jonathan Erlich | 7 | Andy Ram | Israel |
| 7 | 9 | Simon Aspelin | | Thomas Johansson^ | Sweden |
| 8 | 10 | Julian Knowle | | Jürgen Melzer^ | Austria |
| ITF places ||||||
| 9 | | Guillermo Cañas^ | | David Nalbandian^ | Argentina |
| 10 | | Agustín Calleri^ | | Juan Mónaco^ | Argentina |
| 11 | | Paul Hanley | | Jordan Kerr | Australia |
| 12 | | Chris Guccione^ | | Lleyton Hewitt^ | Australia |
| 13 | | Steve Darcis^ | | Olivier Rochus^ | Belgium |
| 14 | | Marcelo Melo | | André Sá | Brazil |
| 15 | | Fernando González^ | | Nicolás Massú^ | Chile |
| 16 | | Zeng Shao-Xuan^ | | Yu Xinyuan^ | China |
| — | | Marin Čilić^ | | Ivan Ljubičić | Croatia |
| 17 | | Tomáš Berdych^ | | Radek Štěpánek^ | Czech Republic |
| 18 | | Arnaud Clément | | Michaël Llodra^ | France |
| 19 | | Gilles Simon^ | | Gaël Monfils^ | France |
| 20 | | Nicolas Kiefer^ | | Rainer Schüttler^ | Germany |
| 21 | | Andy Murray^ | | Jamie Murray | Great Britain |
| 22 | | Mahesh Bhupathi | | Leander Paes | India |
| 23 | | Simone Bolelli^ | | Andreas Seppi^ | Italy |
| 24 | | Mariusz Fyrstenberg | | Marcin Matkowski | Poland |
| 25 | | Igor Andreev^ | | Nikolay Davydenko^ | Russia |
| 26 | | Jeff Coetzee | | Kevin Anderson^ | South Africa |
| 27 | | Nicolás Almagro^ | | David Ferrer^ | Spain |
| 28 | | Rafael Nadal^ | | Tommy Robredo^ | Spain |
| 29 | | Jonas Björkman^ | | Robin Söderling^ | Sweden |
| 30 | | Roger Federer^ | | Stanislas Wawrinka^ | Switzerland |
| 31 | | James Blake^ | | Sam Querrey^ | United States |
| 32 | | Dmitry Tursunov^ | | Mikhail Youzhny^ | Russia |
^ Players have also qualified to the singles tournament

### Women's doubles

| No. | Rank | Player A | Rank | Player B | NOC |
| World Ranking ||||||
| — | 1 | Cara Black^ | | | Zimbabwe |
| 1 | 1 | Liezel Huber | | Lindsay Davenport | United States |
| 2 | 3 | Ai Sugiyama^ | | Ayumi Morita^ | Japan |
| — | 4 | Katarina Srebotnik | | | Slovenia |
| – | 5 | Květa Peschke | | | Czech Republic |
| 3 | 6 | Rennae Stubbs | | Samantha Stosur^ | Australia |
| 4 | 7 | Chuang Chia-Jung | 8 | Chan Yung-Jan^ | Chinese Taipei |
| 5 | 9 | Victoria Azarenka^ | | Tatiana Poutchek | Belarus |
| 6 | 10 | Dinara Safina^ | | Svetlana Kuznetsova^ | Russia |
| ITF places ||||||
| 7 | | Gisela Dulko^ | | Betina Jozami | Argentina |
| 8 | | Casey Dellacqua^ | | Alicia Molik^ | Australia |
| 9 | | Olga Govortsova^ | | Darya Kustova | Belarus |
| 10 | | Yan Zi^ | | Zheng Jie^ | China |
| 11 | | Sun Tiantian | | Peng Shuai^ | China |
| 12 | | Nicole Vaidišová^ | | Iveta Benešová^ | Czech Republic |
| 13 | | Petra Kvitová | | Lucie Šafářová^ | Czech Republic |
| 14 | | Maret Ani^ | | Kaia Kanepi^ | Estonia |
| 15 | | Pauline Parmentier^ | | Tatiana Golovin | France |
| 16 | | Virginie Razzano^ | | Alizé Cornet^ | France |
| 17 | | Eleni Daniilidou^ | | Anna Gerasimou | Greece |
| 18 | | Ágnes Szávay^ | | Gréta Arn | Hungary |
| 19 | | Sania Mirza^ | | Sunitha Rao | India |
| 20 | | Shahar Pe'er^ | | Tzipora Obziler^ | Israel |
| 21 | | Mara Santangelo^ | | Roberta Vinci | Italy |
| 22 | | Flavia Pennetta^ | | Francesca Schiavone^ | Italy |
| 23 | | Agnieszka Radwańska^ | | Marta Domachowska^ | Poland |
| 24 | | Klaudia Jans | | Alicja Rosolska | Poland |
| 25 | | Elena Vesnina | | Vera Zvonareva^ | Russia |
| 26 | | Daniela Hantuchová^ | | Janette Husárová | Slovakia |
| 27 | | Anabel Medina Garrigues^ | | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Spain |
| 28 | | Nuria Llagostera Vives^ | | María José Martínez Sánchez^ | Spain |
| 29 | | Patty Schnyder^ | | Emmanuelle Gagliardi | Switzerland |
| 30 | | Alona Bondarenko^ | | Kateryna Bondarenko^ | Ukraine |
| 31 | | Mariya Koryttseva^ | | Tatiana Perebiynis^ | Ukraine |
| 32 | | Serena Williams^ | | Venus Williams^ | United States |
^ Players have also qualified to the singles tournament