This was the fourth appearance of mixed doubles tennis. The event was first held in 1900 and would not be held again until 1912 (when both outdoor and indoor versions were held); it would then be held the next two Games in 1920 and 1924. Tennis was not a medal sport from 1928 to 1984, though there were demonstration events in 1968 (which included mixed doubles) and 1984 (which did not). Mixed doubles did not return with the rest of the tennis programme in 1988; instead, it was not until 2012 that mixed doubles returned to the programme, where it has been since.[1]
Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Spain each made their mixed doubles debut. France competed for the fourth time, the only nation to have competed at each previous edition.
Competition format
The competition was a single-elimination tournament with a bronze-medal match. All matches were best-of-three sets.