"Winning a [Olympic Gold] medal is right there to winning a Slam" -Leylah Fernández

[Sport]

The talented Canadian player Leylah Fernández (US Open finalist in 2021), shared her views regarding the Olympics in a recent interview:

"For me, I feel like winning a [OG] medal is right there to winning a Slam".

She also perceives that the Olympics are "bigger than any other tournament".

This fascinating interview can be read here at full.

 

[Rosstour]

She says that bc she's never won a Slam

Sinner's treatment of the Olympics says it all. Unless there's a special motivation like we're seeing for Carlos and Nadal, most true top-tier players just aren't that into it.

 

[ojo rojo]

Sinner's treatment of the Olympics says it all.

Spoiler

 

[nolefam_2024]

https://www.reddit.com/r/tennis/comments/1eao9wo

 

[austintennis2005]

She says that bc she's never won a Slam

Sinner's treatment of the Olympics says it all. Unless there's a special motivation like we're seeing for Carlos and Nadal, most true top-tier players just aren't that into it.

What is nadal and carlos ‘special motivation’?

 

[MichaelNadal]

She says that bc she's never won a Slam

Sinner's treatment of the Olympics says it all. Unless there's a special motivation like we're seeing for Carlos and Nadal, most true top-tier players just aren't that into it.

Venus says the opposite

 

[Sport]

Sinner's treatment of the Olympics says it all.

Now Sinner being sick with tonsillitis and its inherent fever and tiredness is intentional. The doctor strongly advised him not to play.

You do not choose when you get sick. Sinner being sick has nothing to do with his esteem of the Olympics.

 

[RF-18]

Wrong thread

 

[inflation_era]

Can't really say this before winning a slam. Olympics is an exhibition essentially.

 

[nolefam_2024]

Winning Olympics Gold is by far the greatest thing an athlete can achieve.

Now if any sport is not part of Olympics then its ok I guess. But Olympics has the greatest athletes of all time, with greatest inspiring stories of all time.

And its about winning for your Country and all your Countrymen.

 

[MeatTornado]

Fans want to argue about this all the time, but every player is different. There is no definitive answer to the value of the Olympics.

 

[dadadas]

Nah

Do the best boxers, F1 drivers, cyclists, footballers need to win an olympic gold? All these sports already have their own prestigious events / championships. Olympic Gold Medals are for sports that do not have a great number of viewership.

 

[weakera]

Nah

Do the best boxers, F1 drivers, cyclists, footballers need to win an olympic gold? All these sports already have their own prestigious events / championships. Olympic Gold Medals are for sports that do not have a great number of viewership.

NBA players definitely care and there is strong viewership.

 

[dadadas]

NBA players definitely care and there is strong viewership.

But when it comes to tennis, Wimbledon is the most prestigious, not Olympic Gold.

in football its World Cup. in cycling, its Tour de France, in F1 its Grand Prix Monaco, in boxing its Championship belts from WBC, WBO, WBA and IBF.

 

[Rosstour]

Now Sinner being sick with tonsillitis and its inherent fever and tiredness is intentional. The doctor strongly advised him not to play.

You do not choose when you get sick. Sinner being sick has nothing to do with his esteem of the Olympics.

But he's gonna play Canada lol

 

[bluetrain4]

Roddick discussed this on his podcast -- how the Olympics is viewed as an accomplishment and if it's even worth playing in a given year varies pretty widely among players. I'm guessing (without statistical proof) that such a difference in opinions isn't as wide when it comes to Slams.

Also, why does the Olympics have to be equivalent to a Slam? It's its own thing - it can be valuable and special on its own merits. To me, Olympic Gold in tennis is sort of broader pop culture achievement than Slams because the Olympics are SO recognizable by the general population. It's like the Oscars, with the gold medal being the Oscar statuette. And the Olympics is special as it ties broad spectrum of sports together. It's pretty cool if a tennis player can say "I've achieved the same thing as Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, Simone Biles (as just three examples of hundreds of athletes past and present in myriad sports who won Olympic gold)."

But, in IMO, that doesn't make it a Slam. As a standalone tennis accomplishment, it's very good obviously, but not Slam level, IMO.

 

[Rudiiii]

Case can be made for OGM equalling WTF, some push narrative for Masters 1000 which I think is exaggerating. But OGM being equal to GS? No point in discussing

 

[ChrisRF]

But when it comes to tennis, Wimbledon is the most prestigious, not Olympic Gold.

in football its World Cup. in cycling, its Tour de France, in F1 its Grand Prix Monaco, in boxing its Championship belts from WBC, WBO, WBA and IBF.

F1 isn't an Olympic sport, so irrelevant here. Boxing is a DIFFERENT sport with different rules at the Olympics. Football is an U23-tournament with the exception of 3 players (and FIFA made that rule because they were afraid to lose importance of the World Cup). And in cycling Tour de France and Olympic Gold might be about equal.

In tennis it's at least like a Slam. However, Zverev said BEFORE his Gold medal that the Olympics is the outright biggest tournament, and when later he was asked if he would share his medal with a Slam crown, he laughed and said "obviously not".

 

[BauerAlmeida]

They are above a M1000 but definitely below a slam. I think you can compare it to the Masters but I rank the later a bit higher.

Slams > Masters > Olympic Gold > M1000.

 

[taster]

I've never been under the impression that an Olympic gold is on the same level as a slam - at least in broad terms. Obviously, it varies at an individual level, but the kudos isn't quite there.

 

[nolefam_2024]

Maybe maybe not

Olympics comes once every 4 years and it has national importance

 

[TearTheRoofOff]

Nice barrel scraping, VB.

 

[dadadas]

However, Zverev said BEFORE his Gold medal that the Olympics is the outright biggest tournament, and when later he was asked if he would share his medal with a Slam crown, he laughed and said "obviously not".

in tennis there is also another achievement that is greater than winning a Wimbledon. That is becoming world number 1. The likes of Wawrinka, Cilic, Thiem, Del Potro, etc... were never consistent enough to become world number one.

if you ask Zverev to pick between being called world number one and being called an Olympic gold medalist, world number one would definately be his choice.

 

[travlerajm]

https://www.reddit.com/r/tennis/comments/1eao9wo

It means more to his legacy - it's like when you have a big screen TV with an annoying blacked-out broken little pixel in the middle of the screen. Looks like a gnat.

 

[Shaolin]

The fact that Andy Murray has 3 slams and 2 OGs but still not considered an ATG by most really says it all.

Olympics are important in tennis to some and not to others. Slams on the other hand are the benchmark for tennis greatness.

 

[Sport]

if you ask Zverev to pick between being called world number one and being called an Olympic gold medalist, world number one would definately be his choice.

Do you have any video evidence of Zverev saying "I'd rather be #1 than an Olympic Gold winner"? If not, you're just speculating.

There have been more players ranked #1 than winning the SOG.

If you say being #1 over 100 weeks is much better than being the SOG I can see your point, but being #1 very few weeks (less than 15, or even less than 5 like Ríos) is definetely not more meritory than being the SOG winner. I don't think Zverev would trade his career with Ríos.

 

[Sport]

The fact that Andy Murray has 3 slams and 2 OGs but still not considered an ATG by most really says it all.

Only some Fed fans who're obssessed with the 6 Slams mark don't consider Murray an ATG.

Most tennis fans do consider Murray to be an ATG. The 6 Slams mark is an incorrect criteria, as it leaves behind obvious ATGs like Courier or Murray.

 

[Shaolin]

Only Fed fans don't consider Murray an ATG (mostly to demerit Novak's competition).

Both Nadal and Djokovic fans (and most tennis fans) consider Murray to be an ATG.

Sorry but that’s BS. Kind of like most of your posts. Numerous discussions have been made on Murray being an ATG or not, the overwhelming consensus is that he’s not.

 

[dadadas]

There have been more players ranked #1 than winning the SOG.

If you say being #1 over 100 weeks is much better than being the SOG I can see your point, but being #1 very few weeks (less than 15, or even less than 5 like Ríos) is definetely not more meritory than being the SOG winner. I don't think Zverev would trade his career with Ríos.

What sounds better? Former world number one or olympic gold medalist? Former world number one even with just one week > Olympic Gold.

World Number One is not a title that Olympic Committee can give to the tennis players that win their tennis tourneys. its a special title that does not belong to a single organizer of a tourney.

 

[Better_Call_Raul]

They are above a M1000 but definitely below a slam. I think you can compare it to the Masters but I rank the later a bit higher.

Slams > Masters > Olympic Gold > M1000.

In terms of difficulty to achieve, it is practically the same.
Top 128 in a Slam vs Top 64 at Olympics. Minor difference.
Best Of Five vs Best Of Three. Major difference.
Pressure is the same, if not more so in the Olympics. You are representing your country!

 

[vokazu]

Putting Olympics in tennis GOAT debate is not fair for the past All Time Greats who did not play Olympics because Olympics Tennis didn't exist.

Slams, Masters, WTF. Period.

 

[dadadas]

Putting Olympics in tennis GOAT debate is not fair for the past All Time Greats who did not play Olympics because Olympics Tennis didn't exist.

Slams, Masters, WTF. Period.

Even Masters and WTF are debatable. WTF got their names changed multiple times. Before the 2000s, most tennis players did not take Masters as seriously as slams.

 

[Sport]

Putting Olympics in tennis GOAT debate is not fair for the past All Time Greats who did not play Olympics because Olympics Tennis didn't exist.

Slams, Masters, WTF. Period.

Putting the Australian Open in tennis GOAT debates is not fair for the past All Time Greats who did not play in Australia because that Major was considered less relevant back then.

Roland-Garros, Wimbledon, US Open. Period.

 

[Sport]

Sorry but that’s BS. Kind of like most of your posts. Numerous discussions have been made on Murray being an ATG or not, the overwhelming consensus is that he’s not.

If you define ATG as being one of the top 25 players of all time (rather than defining it as winning 6 Slams), players like Kuerten of Murray comfortably rank as ATGs.

 

[StefanosRespecter]

Has she ever won a Grand Slam? How would she know?

 

[Night Slasher]

some players find satisfaction in representing their country at the Olympics and winning a medal is unique reward, so for them the event is very special and important. others simply don't think that way.

the notion that winning a slam, the ultimate goal for every tennis player throughout the history of this sport, is equally important as winning the Olympics gold is of course ridiculous.

 

[GabeT]

The current slam champs are Novak, Carlos and Sinner

The current OG medalist is Zverev

Need I say more?

 

[Shaolin]

If you define ATG as being one of the top 25 players of all time (rather than defining it as winning 6 Slams), players like Kuerten of Murray comfortably rank as ATGs.

I have never heard of someone defining it as top 25 players all time. The commonly used metric is 6 slams....Becker, Edberg etc.

 

[Justshort]

The talented Canadian player Leylah Fernández (US Open finalist in 2021), shared her views regarding the Olympics in a recent interview:

"For me, I feel like winning a [OG] medal is right there to winning a Slam".

She also perceives that the Olympics are "bigger than any other tournament".

This fascinating interview can be read here at full.

 

[messiahrobins]

Putting Olympics in tennis GOAT debate is not fair for the past All Time Greats who did not play Olympics because Olympics Tennis didn't exist.

Slams, Masters, WTF. Period.

So on that basis less weight has to be attached to the AO as pre 21st century players didnt care about it compared to the other slams.

 

[NYTennisfan]

I get the appeal of winning Gold for your country, that's a powerful thing I'm sure, but I don't think any player is really being honest if they say individually that they prefer winning Gold at a watered down tournament which is essentially an ATP Finals format over the long grueling journey of winning a slam against the very best in the world in Best of 5's especially a slam like Wimbledon which is the most prestigous tennis trophy.

 

[messiahrobins]

The current slam champs are Novak, Carlos and Sinner

The current OG medalist is Zverev

Need I say more?

They are the current top 4

 

[messiahrobins]

Putting the Australian Open in tennis GOAT debates is not fair for the past All Time Greats who did not play in Australia because that Major was considered less relevant back then.

Roland-Garros, Wimbledon, US Open. Period.

What is the slam count leaderboard across those 3 slams out of interest. The Top 10?

 

[Night Slasher]

I have never heard of someone defining it as top 25 players all time. The commonly used metric is 6 slams....Becker, Edberg etc.

it's an arbitrary number that fits his agenda I guess, never heard of it before either. and why stop at 25, why not top 55 or top 105 players of all time. i mean, come on

 

[GabeT]

They are the current top 4

 

[Sudacafan]

It depends.
Play me Chariots of Fire and I tell you.

 

[Sudacafan]

Spoiler

Sinner is fake Italian, Du verstehst?

 

[messiahrobins]

I can see Zverev pulling out, just got a feeling there will be quite a few now that some big names have pulled out. I mean tonsillitis has to be the biggest troll reason of all time lol. All he needed was antibiotics or if viral some throat drops. Plus even without treatment it would clear up by the weekend lol.

 

[Newballsplease872]

It's a glorified exho.

Unfortunately being from a war-torn country Nole puts special emphasis on it which has elevated this event much more than it's supposed to be

Not to mention the poms and dull fans crying about it because their favorite player couldn't cut it in actual superior events -Murray in slams and Nadal at the Finals where he has to face multiple top-10 players and cannot rely on his cupcake rigged draws

 

[Aussie Darcy]

She says that bc she's never won a Slam

Sinner's treatment of the Olympics says it all. Unless there's a special motivation like we're seeing for Carlos and Nadal, most true top-tier players just aren't that into it.

Just not true for some players. Monica Puig winning gold in 2016 for Puerto Rico did WAY more than her winning a French Open ever would have.

Different people have different opinions but we know why Djokovic fights so hard for Olympic gold. It would be huge for Serbia.