Tennis at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Demonstration women's doubles

Demonstration women's doubles
Demonstration women's doubles
Tennis at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Final
Champions	Edda Buding; Helga Niessen
Runners-up	Rosa María Darmon; Julie Heldman
Score	6–3, 6–4
Events
Demonstration
Exhibition

Since the 1968 Summer Olympics did not feature tennis as an official sport, two unofficial tournaments were held during the Games: a Demonstration tournament and an Exhibition tournament.^[1]

The Demonstration tournament was played from 14 to 20 October 1968 at three venues in Guadalajara, Mexico: Guadalajara Country Club, Atlas Sports Club and Guadalajara Sports Club; all of them featured clay courts.^[2] All matches were played at best-of-three sets; since the tiebreak rule wasn't implemented until the 1970s, a team had to win a set by a two-game margin in case of a 6–6 draw.

West Germans Edda Buding and Helga Niessen won the tournament by defeating French Rosa María Darmon and American Julie Heldman 6–3, 6–4 in the final. Americans Peaches Bartkowicz and Valerie Ziegenfuss won the third place.

Seeds

Both seeds received a bye into the semifinals.

Peaches Bartkowicz (USA) / Valerie Ziegenfuss (USA) (semifinals, bronze medalists)
Edda Buding (FRG) / Helga Niessen (FRG) (champions, gold medalists)

Draw

First round					Semifinals					Final (gold-medal match)

					1	Peaches Bartkowicz (USA) Valerie Ziegenfuss (USA)	6	4	3
	Rosa María Darmon (MEX) Julie Heldman (USA)	7	6			Rosa María Darmon (MEX) Julie Heldman (USA)	2	6	6
	Suzana Petersen (BRA) Cecilia Rosado (MEX)	5	0								Rosa María Darmon (MEX) Julie Heldman (USA)	3	4
	María Eugenia Guzmán (ECU) Ana María Ycaza (ECU)	5	6	3						2	Edda Buding (FRG) Helga Niessen (FRG)	6	6
	Lucia Gongora (MEX) Patricia Montaño (MEX)	7	3	6		Lucia Gongora (MEX) Patricia Montaño (MEX)	4	1
					2	Edda Buding (FRG) Helga Niessen (FRG)	6	6
										Bronze-medal match

										1	Peaches Bartkowicz (USA) Valerie Ziegenfuss (USA)	6	6
											Lucia Gongora (MEX) Patricia Montaño (MEX)	2	1

References

^ "Mexico 68, Vol. 3: The Games" (PDF). Organizing Committee of the Games of the XIX Olympiad. 1969. pp. 74 (491). Retrieved 15 April 2017. After a lapse of more than four decades, tennis was reintroduced to Olympic Games spectators as one of two demonstration sports. Forty-six competitors from fifteen nations displayed their skill in singles and doubles matches on courts in the capital and in Guadalajara, and the tournament was received with enthusiasm by both players and fans.
^ "Mexico 68, Vol. 2: The Organization" (PDF). Organizing Committee of the Games of the XIX Olympiad. 1969. pp. 78 (79). Retrieved 15 April 2017. For the demonstration sports—fronton and tennis—the following installations were employed. In Mexico City: Frontón México, fronton and tennis courts of the Chapultepec Sports Center, fronton courts of the Asturian Sports Center, the Lebanese Sports Center and the Frontón Metropolitano. In other cities: fronton courts of the Acapulco Jai-Alai; and the tennis courts of the Guadalajara Country Club, the Atlas Sports Club and the Guadalajara Sports Club, all in the city of Guadalajara