This was the 10th appearance of men's doubles tennis. The event has been held at every Summer Olympics where tennis has been on the program: from 1896 to 1924 and then from 1988 to the current program. A demonstration event was held in 1968.
This was the first Olympics at which Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde played together. Woodbridge had played with John Fitzgerald in 1992. Since pairing with Woodforde, the Australians had won four consecutive Wimbledone titles. They were heavy favorites in the Olympic tournament.[1] 1992 silver medalist Wayne Ferreira of South Africa returned, this time paired with (unrelated) Ellis Ferreira rather than Piet Norval. Bronze medalist Javier Frana of Argentina also returned with a new partner, Luis Lobo.
Chinese Taipei, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, the Ivory Coast, Slovakia, and Venezuela each made their debut in the event. Great Britain made its eighth appearance in the event, most of any nation.
Competition format
The competition was a single-elimination tournament. A bronze-medal match was reintroduced after not being held in 1988 or 1992. All matches except the final were best-of-three sets, down from best-of-five in previous Games; the final remained best-of-five. Tiebreaks were used for any set before the final set that reached 6–6.
