1800's
Late in the 1800's Athens held an event that was a huge deal for its time and still is today. The year was 1896 and Athens hosted the first Modern Olympiad. The Olympics were a dream of Baron Pierre de Coubertin who was the actual founder of the International Olympic Committee in 1894. He believed that the Olympics would be a friendly competition in which all the differences of religion, politics, and race would be momentarily forgotten. Over the next few years, tennis proved to be a unique opportunity to represent the country they lived among other athletes that participated in different sports. Though forgotten often, tennis was one of the one out of nine original Olympic sports in Athens in 1896. Representing Ireland was John Boland who beat Dionysios Kasdaglis from Greece, became the first Olympic tennis champion. Four years later however Charlotte Cooper became the first woman ever to win an Olympic medal. Tennis became a big deal in the late 1800's, especially for the Olympics. In 1896, it was one of the first nine original sports at the Olympics.