The 21st century
Sweden · born Falun, 1987 · twice Wimbledon wheelchair singles champion · Paralympic doubles gold 2012
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2
Wimbledon singles titles, 2017 and 2018
3
Wimbledon singles finals, 2016 to 2018
2
Wimbledon doubles titles, 2010 and 2019
No. 2
Career-high singles ranking, February 2011
Born in Falun in 1987, Olsson started playing tennis at seven and spent almost 20 years as a professional. He won the season-ending Wheelchair Tennis Masters in singles in 2008 and 2010 and rose to No. 2 in the singles rankings in February 2011. At the Paralympic Games he won doubles silver in Beijing in 2008 and gold in London in 2012 with Peter Vikström, the result he called the biggest goal of his career. Away from Wimbledon he won major doubles titles at the 2009 US Open with Stéphane Houdet and the 2019 Australian Open with Joachim Gérard, and reached the 2019 Australian Open singles final. He played at five Paralympic Games and retired after Tokyo 2020, held in 2021.
| Major singles titles | 2: Wimbledon (2017, 2018) |
|---|---|
| Major singles finals lost | 1: Wimbledon (2016) |
| Major doubles titles | 2: Wimbledon (2010, 2019) |
| Wimbledon singles finals | 2016: lost to Gordon Reid 6-1, 6-4 in the first men's wheelchair singles final. 2017: beat Gustavo Fernández 7-5, 3-6, 7-5. 2018: beat Fernández 6-2, 0-6, 6-3 |
| Wimbledon doubles | 2010 with Robin Ammerlaan, beat Stéphane Houdet and Shingo Kunieda 6-4, 7-6; 2019 with Joachim Gérard, beat Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid 6-4, 6-2 |
| Wimbledon doubles final lost | 2018 with Joachim Gérard, to Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid 6-1, 6-4 |
| Road to the 2017 title | Beat the 2016 champion Gordon Reid in the quarter-final and the former No. 1 Shingo Kunieda in the semi-final |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Men's wheelchair doubles | with Robin Ammerlaan |
| 2017 | Men's wheelchair singles | |
| 2018 | Men's wheelchair singles | |
| 2019 | Men's wheelchair doubles | with Joachim Gérard |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"It's still unbelievable to win twice"
The person behind the player.
Wimbledon 2016
The first Wimbledon men's wheelchair singles title went to Gordon Reid, who beat Olsson 6-1, 6-4. A year later Olsson said he had feared the defeat "could have been one of my last chances". In 2017 he beat Reid in the quarter-final and Shingo Kunieda in the semi-final on the way back to the final.
Source: International Paralympic CommitteeMelbourne 2017
Olsson missed the 2017 Australian Open to be at home for the birth of his son. He said fatherhood changed his routine and his focus: "Before, I was just 'tennis, tennis, tennis' and now I have my whole family." He did not lose a singles match at Wimbledon in the two years that followed.
Source: International Paralympic CommitteeWimbledon 2017 · Final
Behind in the deciding set against Gustavo Fernández, Olsson came back to win it 7-5 with his family watching. "They were tears of joy and an unreal feeling inside my bones," he said afterwards. "It stills feel like a dream and will take some time to melt."
Source: International Paralympic CommitteeWimbledon 2018 · Doubles final
In the doubles final with Joachim Gérard against Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid, Olsson fell out of his wheelchair during a long rally, got back in and hit a crosscourt forehand winner. The Swedes lost the final, but Olsson won the singles title the next day after losing the second set 0-6. "I got nervous, I got really nervous," he said.
Source: International Paralympic CommitteeOff court
The player profiles for the 2018 Wheelchair Tennis Masters listed Olsson's interests away from tennis as carpentry and mechanics, adding that he had built his own furniture and porches. By then he had won the Masters singles title twice, in 2008 and 2010, and the doubles in 2008.
Source: USTA, Wheelchair Tennis Masters player profilesTokyo 2021
After losing to Tom Egberink of the Netherlands in the third round at his fifth Paralympic Games, Olsson confirmed that 2021 would be his last season as a professional. He had no regrets about how it ended. "I've got two kids back home. It's not so easy to be away any more."
Source: International Paralympic CommitteeFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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