“A bigger dream than winning a Grand Slam” 🇵🇷
— ITF (@ITFTennis) July 25, 2024
Monica Puig’s journey to Olympic gold at Rio 2016 🥹#Paris2024 | #Olympics | #tennis pic.twitter.com/ErcHA1Gftz
In 2016, Monica Puig traveled to Rio de Janeiro and won a gold medal at the Olympic Games. The unseeded Puerto Rican player, whose highest ranking was number 27 in the world (she was ranked number 34 when she played in Rio), not only won gold, but did so by blazing through a very tough draw. She defeated Palona Herzog, 14th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 3rd seed Garbine Muguruza, Laura Siegemund, 11th seed Petra Kivitova, and 2nd seed Angie Kerber.
But that wasn't all. The Association of Olympic Committees named Puig Outstanding Female Athlete in Rio.
How could a woman who wasn't in the top 20 and had never gotten past the fourth round of a major win an Olympic gold medal? This question appeared to trouble some people, but the answer is simple: Once she arrived in Rio, Puig got into a zone of zones and never left it. I'm sure that there was also something about the courts that suited her and helped her to play the best version of her game. And yes, she beat a couple of my very favorite players, but I was nevertheless able to delight in Puig's amazing feat.
Monica Puig was never able to replicate that kind of accomplishment, or to even come close to it, and I'm here to say, "So what?" For one week in Rio, she found the skill and mental strength of a champion, and--as she advanced in the draw--her confidence grew. These things happen from time to time; after all, it was only a few years ago that two unseeded players reached the final of the U.S. Open, and the tour didn't break, nor did it implode. It was actually a pretty exciting occurrence.
Puig retired from the tour in 2022, and she retired as an Olympic champion, which is something to celebrate.
No comments:
Post a Comment