Should There Be a Team Medal?

I was watching Pegula vs Svitolina with my mom over the weekend when she asked if tennis had a team medal also. Which it doesn’t, but that would be a no brainer of an idea to bring some added excitement to the event. It shouldn’t be a team event where there is only 1 winning medal, we already have that with Davis Cup and they’ve tried with ATP cup. Instead, it could be like how gymnastics is in the Olympics, or how the Shirley is in Indy. There should be points rewarded for each medal in each division and whichever country has the most points gets team medals. They’re  all there as a team, so why not make it a team event. Plus it would be way more fun, the players would be more into it, at more matches, wanting their teammates to do well.  .

Imagine a match, that comes down to Coco or Rajeev, that doesn’t just win them a medal, but could win the whole country and team a medal. The other players on the team would be at the match going crazy, like a college environment, and it would lead for more entertainment. Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton were at Lily King’s table tennis match, which was sick, but a moment like that could draw other American teams to the match, which would help grow the sport. Everybody remembers the USA basketball team walking in to watch Phelps win his record setting, 8th gold medal in Beijing, and this would be a way to add that to tennis.

Of course it would be tough if two teammates played each other but that’s already happening anyways, just no team medal involved. Two players can play each other from the same country and one advances. In Texas High School they play tennis Co-Ed, the only place I’ve heard of to play both men’s and women’s tennis together. 6 singles, 3 doubles each, 1 mixed doubles. They travel together, cheer each other on together, those were some unreal times and I didn’t even get to play. Go Unicorns. It would be similar to this, provide for a one of a kind event and experience for both, the players and fans.

Has the IOC thought of doing this before? If so, I wonder why they haven’t gone through with it. Logistically, it doesn’t make one thing harder, all it does it add excitement. Some countries would have an advantage that have more competitors, but at the end of the day those players still have to win and there’s only 3 available medals per event. Each player would still have the ultimate Olympic experience, even more so because they wouldn’t be 1 and done. If you lose first round, goodbye Olympic village. But if you lose first round and your team is still in you now are a cheerleader and living up the Olympic Village experience. Basically what Tyrese Haliburton is doing, and I think it’s gotta be the coolest experience in the world. However much you gotta pay to go to that resort, count me in. 

Team tennis is played more energetically and the crowd could get way more into it, and the common sports fans that are there just to be at an Olympic event would enjoy it more. Let the fans of their countries go crazy like old home Davis Cup ties. By the way, why did we get rid of those? Too fun? Let’s save some of the excitement of tennis and add a team event to the Olympics. There’s too many reasons to add it and really no reasons not to add it, for it to not be implemented. 2028 in America seems like a perfect place to start. 

Good suggestion Mom.