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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Your teams. Your favorite writers. Wherever you want them. Personalize SI with our new App. Install on&amp;nbsp;iOS&amp;nbsp;or&amp;nbsp;Android.&lt;/em&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Each year, four major events tent-pole the tennis calendar: Players head to Melbourne in January, followed by a summer of Slams in Paris and London and the final event in New York in early September. But this year, we\u2019re lucky enough to have a fifth main attraction as players will compete for their countries, and gold-medal glory, in Rio de Janiero.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Unlike London 2012, where the green grass of Wimbledon hosted the Olympic competition, matches in Rio will be played on hardcourts at the Olympic Tennis Centre, which features 16 courts, some of them temporary. A total of 172 players are expected to compete in five events\u2014men\u2019s and women\u2019s singles and doubles and mixed doubles\u2014held from August 6-14.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Tennis made its Olympic debut in Athens in 1896. Now, for the Summer Games 120 years later in Rio, SI\u2019s tennis experts Jon Wertheim, Jamie Lisanti and Stanley Kay break down everything you need to know about Olympic tennis, from top storylines to players to watch and more.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;RIO OLYMPICS PREVIEWS:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Men\u2019s basketball&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; | &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Women\u2019s basketball&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; | &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Rugby&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; | &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Diving&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; | &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tennis&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;|&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Triathlon&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; | &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Men\u2019s soccer&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;|&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Women's soccer&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; | &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Field hockey&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;|&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Sailing&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt; | &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Wrestling &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;| &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Table tennis&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2&gt;Top storylines&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 What\u2019s up with Novak Djokovic? A month ago, Djokovic was simply dominating men\u2019s tennis, having won four straight major titles. His mystifying third round loss at Wimbledon has reset the narrative. You don\u2019t kick Zeus off the mountain for one bad day; but there is a sudden sense that Djokovic is vulnerable. At the Olympics\u2014where he failed to medal in 2012\u2014he can reclaim his aura. Or lend support to the (wishful, perhaps) thinking that he is slowing down.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 How will the Williams sisters acquit themselves in what is likely their last Olympics? Serena and Venus\u2014who started their Olympics careers in Sydney\u2014are coming gold medal performance in singles and doubles in London. Their play at Wimbledon also portends gold.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 How is Roger Federer\u2019s knee? The most painful sight at Wimbledon was not Roger Federer, age 34, losing a semifinal match he should have won. It was his receiving treatment on his left knee. One suspects he\u2019ll play these Games even if he\u2019s not 100%. (These are tennis players; not golfers.) But if the knee is troubling him, he is likely to bail on mixed doubles.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 At the 2012 London Games, the UK\u2019s Andy Murray stole the show, beating Roger Federer in the final match on Wimbledon\u2019s Centre Court and adding to the success of \u201CTeam GB.\u201D There are no Brazilian contenders in Rio, so which players can win over the crowd?\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 Team USA\u2019s women are heavy favorites to reach the podium, but the men\u2014coming off a crushing Davis Cup defeat to Croatia\u2014aren\u2019t expected to make much noise in Rio. Top\u2013ranked American John Isner (world No. 16) is skipping the event, as is Djokovic-slayer Sam Querrey (No. 29), who this week questioned whether tennis should even be an Olympic sport. Without them, it\u2019s basically up to the Bryan brothers, who won doubles gold in London but haven\u2019t won a Grand Slam title since the 2014 U.S. Open. No. 25-ranked Steve Johnson is the highest\u2013ranked American singles player in the Games, and he\u2019s joined by Jack Sock (No. 26), Denis Kudla (No. 100) and Brian Baker (No. 163), who on Tuesday won his first ATP tour singles match since 2013. Not ideal.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2&gt;Players to watch&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Angelique Kerber (Germany)&lt;/strong&gt;: The 2016 Australian Open champion and \u201916 Wimbledon runner-up is a rising talent on the women\u2019s tour. She reached the quarterfinals at the 2012 Games, so expect her to make waves in Rio for Germany.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Andy Murray (Great Britain):&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;The defending gold medalist enters Rio with momentum after dominating the field at Wimbledon en route to his third major title. Unlike four years ago, he won\u2019t have the home crowd behind him\u2014but he\u2019s an early favorite to defend his medal.&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Brian Baker (USA)&lt;/strong&gt;: If you\u2019ve never heard of the 31-year-old American, that\u2019s quite all right. Ranked No. 546, Baker\u2019s career has been plagued by seemingly never-ending injuries, but thanks to a protected ranking, he qualified for Team USA.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;Addition of golf and rugby just a few of many&amp;nbsp;changes at Rio Olympics&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong &gt;Rafael&amp;nbsp;Nadal&amp;nbsp;(Spain)&lt;/strong&gt;:&amp;nbsp;Rafa&amp;nbsp;hasn\u2019t played a match since May 27, when he withdrew from the French Open with a left wrist injury. The 14-time Grand Slam champ and 2008 Olympic gold medalist in&amp;nbsp;Bejing&amp;nbsp;2008 is Spain\u2019s&amp;nbsp;flagbearer&amp;nbsp;and is expected to return to competition in Rio in singles, and in doubles with partner Marc Lopez.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Elena Vesnina (Russia)&lt;/strong&gt;: The 29-year-old Russian was surprise semifinalist at Wimbledon and, in addition to singles, will make a strong doubles team for Russia with partner with Ekaterina Makarova.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Roger Federer/Martina Hingis (Switzerland):&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;Hingis last played in the Olympics in 1996, two years before Federer turned pro. This mixed doubles pair may be past its prime, but these two former world No. 1s are going to be fun to watch in Rio\u2014and despite their mileage, tough to beat.&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022&amp;nbsp;\u200B&lt;strong&gt;Rio\u2019s Olympians: Like the city, its athletes overcoming their own obstacles&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Leander Paes (India):&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;Think Federer and Hingis are old?&amp;nbsp;Paes, 43, is set to play in his seventh (!) Olympics, extending his record for Indian athletes and tennis players. The doubles specialist, who won bronze at Atlanta 1996 in singles, is partnering with 36-year-old Rohan Bopanna in Rio.&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina):&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;Del Potro fell to Federer in the 2012 Olympic semifinals, but the Argentine\u2019s last four years have been characterized by injuries. After returning from an extended injury spell in February, Delpo is showing signs of reinvigoration, upsetting Stan Wawrinka at Wimbledon this summer.&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Bob and Mike Bryan (USA): &lt;/strong&gt;It\u2019s been a rough few years for the Bryan Brothers, Bob and Mike, the best doubles team of all time, but now closer to age 40 than 30. They remain one of the top teams, though. And they remain one of the top teams to hail from the same country. Can they take advantage of this and defend their 2012 gold medal?\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022&amp;nbsp;Usain&amp;nbsp;Bolt looking to close historic Olympic career with a bang\r\n\r\n&lt;h2&gt;Withdrawal watch&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;While there are big stars set to take the court in Rio, Olympic tennis will be without some notable names from the WTA and ATP Tours this summer. Romania\u2019s Simona Halep, Canada\u2019s Milos Raonic and Czech Repbulic\u2019s Tomas Berdych were the first players to withdraw that cited the Zika virus as their main reason for not competing. Frenchman Richard Gasquet announced he will miss the Olympics due to a back injury in July. After making the quarterfinals in London 2012, No. 16-ranked American John Isner will also not participate this year, citing logistics and scheduling conflicts as the main reasons for his decision. Other players include World No. 9 Dominic Thiem of Austria, South Africa\u2019s Kevin Anderson, Spain\u2019s Feliciano Lopez and\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In early June, Aussie Nick Kyrgios announced his desire to play Olympic tennis but said he would not go to Rio this year because \u201Cthe Australian Olympic Committee has other plans.\u201D Fellow countrymen Bernard Tomic and Thanasi Kokkinakis, who is still recovering from shoulder surgery, will also miss the games, and Lleyton Hewitt opted out of his role as Australian men\u2019s tennis team coach in July.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Belarussia\u2019s Victoria Azarenka, who won the gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics in mixed doubles with Max Mirnyi, will not play in Rio after she announced that she is expecting her first child at the end of the year. Russia\u2019s Maria Sharapova will also miss the Olympics after her appeal of her two-year ban for doping was postponed until September.\r\n\r\n&lt;h2&gt;Rules refresher&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Matches are played in best-of-three sets, except for the men\u2019s singles final, which is decided in the best-of-five sets format, with a final set tiebreak, if necessary.&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;There will be 64 players each in the men\u2019s and women\u2019s singles draws, 32 teams each in the men\u2019s and women\u2019s doubles draws and 16 teams in the mixed doubles.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Players will not receive WTA or ATP rankings points, or prize money, for participating in the 2016 Rio Olympics.\r\n\r\n&lt;h2&gt;Gold medal dates&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Friday, August 12:&lt;/strong&gt; Men\u2019s doubles\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Saturday, August 13:&lt;/strong&gt; Women\u2019s singles\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Sunday, August 14:&lt;/strong&gt; Men\u2019s singles, women\u2019s doubles, mixed doubles\r\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/olympics/2016/07/22/rio-2016-olympics-tennis-preview>