Britain's Jamie Murray won the 2007 mixed doubles crown at Wimbledon

Mixed doubles has been introduced to the Olympic programme in time for the 2012 London Games.

Men's and women's singles, plus a men's and women's doubles competition were already part of the schedule.

A mixed doubles event has been introduced without increasing the number of overall competitors.

The International Olympic Committee said it would give "another opportunity for men and women to compete together on the same field of play".

In August, the IOC said it wanted guarantees that top players in singles would be able to participate in mixed doubles.

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"The inclusion of a tennis mixed doubles event will not increase the current number of athletes and will bring added value to the Olympic programme," the IOC added.

Outside of the Olympics, the sport's biggest stars rarely play doubles or mixed doubles.

At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, tennis gold medals were won by Spain's Rafael Nadal, Elena Dementieva of Russia, Swiss pair Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka and America's Venus and Serena Williams.

The tennis events at the London 2012 Games will take place on the grass courts of Wimbledon.

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