Team Slovakia
3 (3+0)
MEN'S
Singles: Norbert Gombos
Doubles: Filip Polášek/Lukáš Klein
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Slovakia has never missed the Olympic tennis competitions. It will be its 7th consecutive appearance in this sport since the independence. However, it will now break into negative records books. Not only will we equal the smallest team in the history from Rio 5 years ago with only 3 players competing, but for the first time ever we will not be represented in women's competitions at all.
Atlanta 1996 (5 players, 2M+3W), Sydney 2000 (5, 2+3), Athens 2004 (7, 3+4), Beijing 2008 (4, 1+3), London 2012 (4, 2+2), Rio 2016 (3, 2+1)
The country never won a medal at the Olympics... as Slovakia... but won 2 in Seoul 1988 as part of the former Czechoslovakia, with the Slovak former world class player Miloš Mečíř entering the history as the very first Olympic champion in M Singles at the return of the sport to the Olympics.
This time, Only 3 players will represent the country from under the Tatras in the Tokyo Tennis competition. An all men affair.
Norbert Gombos, sometimes spelt Gomboš, 30 years old right handed player, last year Rolland Garros 3rd round participant, finished the Olympic qualifying period outside of the qualifying cut-off ranking as 87th ATP Singles player, but due several withdrawals and removals from the ranking for different reasons he jumped back among the 64 qualified players, Last day of June he was officially invited to take part at the Tokyo 2020 M singles tournament as European Continental Quota holder (Nowadays he is already pretty safe among the direct qualifiers btw). Long time Slovak Davis Cup member will experience his Olympic debut in Tokyo.
Filip Polášek, 35 years old, current Slovak Doubles Number 1 player finished the qualifying period in 9th place of the mens doubles ATP ranking, a top 10 rank which secured him a direct automatical Olympic spot in the Mens Doubles. He even had the luxury to select himself his partner for the competition...
He could choose literally anyone he wanted, pending the player would fullfil basic criterias being top 300 ATP Singles or Doubles player with some required Davis Cup starts during the Qualifying cycle...
This year Australian Open winner alongside his long years Doubles partner Ivan Dodig of Croatia, eventually picked the young Lukáš Klein, as his partner for the Tokyo Doubles competition. Lukáš 23 years old former Australian Open Junior doubles runner-up is considered as one of the new talents of our Tennis, currently 257th ATP doubles and 256th Singles player is having this year his best season so far in his young career at the Challenger circuits, with doubles triumph in Cherbourg or final in Zadar among others. The issue was however he never participated in Davis Cups, but not because he did not want to or refused the invitations, he never has been called to the team, because of better ranked players being always chosen, this fact helped at the end our authorities to convince ITF to despite the rules, confirm and allow his place in the M Doubles alongside of Filip Polášek.
All 3 our players will play at the Olympics for the first time of their careers.