entry to the olympic tennis draw of athens 2004 was slightly different from previous occassions. national olympic committes (noc) were still be able to nominate teams, but now teams also classified directly. 5 pairs entered directly, the qualifying was based on itf world doubles ranking at 14th june 2004. see the selected us team and read the rules below:

us team [usatoday.com]

Name	Birthdate	Hometown	Event
Jennifer Capriati	3-29-76	Saddlebrook, Fla.	WITHDRAWN
WITHDRAWN: Gold medalist (singles) at 1992 Olympics.
Martina Navratilova	10-28-56	Aspen, Colo.	Doubles
Grand Slam titles: 18 singles, 39 doubles. WTA career total: 167 singles titles. Ranked in Top 5 from 1975 to 1993. Retired from singles play in 1994 but has played on occasion since 2002.
Lisa Raymond	8-10-73	Wayne, Pa.	Singles, doubles
Five Grand Slam titles in doubles; perennial Fed Cup player. Two-time NCAA singles champion at Florida. Four career singles titles. Replaces Capriati on singles roster.
Chanda Rubin	2-18-76	Lafayette, La.	Singles, doubles
Named to 1996 Olympic team but forced to withdraw with injury. Ranked No. 9 at end of 2003. Seven career singles titles. Numerous awards for humanitarian work. Replaces Serena Williams on doubles roster.
Serena Williams	9-26-81	Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.	WITHDRAWN
WITHDRAWN: Gold medalist (doubles) at 2000 Olympics.
Venus Williams	6-17-80	Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.	Singles, doubles
Two gold medals (singles, doubles) at 2000 Olympics. Four Grand Slam singles titles. Ranked No. 1 through part of 2002. Started interior design company in Florida.

qualification system

the singles events shall consist of a draw of 64 singles players, with a maximum of 4 players per noc. the doubles events shall consist of a draw of 32 pairs, each comprising of players from the same nation, with a maximum of 2 pairs per noc. (the maximum number of players per noc will be confirmed by the itf by 31 december 2002).

doubles

in addition to the players qualified for the singles events, 10 players (5 pairs) will automatically qualify for each of the men’s and women’s doubles events. additional pairs will be selected by the itf in accordance with the criteria below. There may be a maximum of 2 pairs per noc: 10 (5 pairs) direct qualifications, based on the world doubles ranking of 14 june 2004. maximum of 54 (27 pairs) final qualification places. maximum of 64 (32 pairs).

1. itf world doubles ranking, 14 june 2004
10 players will receive direct acceptance into the men’s and women’s doubles events at the 2004 olympic tennis event based on the recognised international doubles computer rankings of 14 june 2004. qualification shall be attributed based on the combined ranking of the highest 2 ranked doubles players per noc, until a maximum of 5 pairs/10 places have been allocated. should an noc have more than 2 players ranked within the top 10 of the itf world doubles ranking list of 14 june 2004, they will have right to select the 2 players to fill the qualification places.

2. final qualification places
a maximum of 54 final qualification places shall be selected for the men’s and women’s doubles events. qualification for these places shall be determined by the itf and allocated according to the following factors, until a total of 172 places have been allocated in the olympic tennis competitions:
i) world ranking
ii) whether the country is represented in the tennis event
iii) number of players on site
iv) geographical location.

3. singles players
any player nominated and accepted for the singles event will automatically be eligible for selection for the doubles event.

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