[originaltext] Tennis was one of the original sports played at the modern Ol

Tennis was one of the original sports played at the modern Olympic Games which were held in Athens, Greece in 1896, and it lasted until the 1924 Games in Paris. Later tennis was dropped out from the Olympic Games from 1924 to 1968 due to the following reasons: the formats and the rules of the game were changed, lack of participants, unsuitable facilities, the resistance to the notion of posting an International Tennis Federation representative on the International Olympic Committee, mid a clash of dates with Wimbledon. (Wimbledon known as the Wimbledon Tournament is still one of the most celebrated sporting events in the world.) Philippe Chatrier, the President of the International Tennis Federation, lobbied for the sport to return to the Olympics for years but was unsuccessful. In 1968, tennis finally became non-medal demonstration competition at the Olympic Games. In 1988, tennis returned to the Olympic Games as an official sport. Olympic gold medals have been awarded in four events: men’s and women’s singles and men’s and women’s doubles.
    In the past, tennis was not popular at all. But it is getting more and more accepted in China in recent years. Now China has several best players of the world. China is going to launch a new ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) men’s tennis tournament next September in order to prepare for the 2008 Olympics.