The tournament held between 15 and 21 August at the Olympic Tennis Centre in Athens, Greece. There were 30 pairs from 24 nations, with the Belarusian pair and one of the Swedish pairs not starting. For the first time since tennis returned in 1988, nations could enter more than one pair; the limit was now two pairs (four players).
This was the 12th 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.
Poland made its debut in the event. France made its ninth appearance in the event, matching the absent Great Britain for most of all nations.
Competition format
The competition was a single-elimination tournament with a bronze medal match. All matches except the final were best-of-three sets; the final was best-of-five. Tiebreaks were used for any set before the third (fifth in the final) that reached 6–6.
