It’s a new year, which means a new start. With the Covid-19 vaccine being distributed, hope is on the horizon for many people as society hopes for a return to normal and getting outside and enjoying the things we missed in 2020. Included on the list of missed opportunities was the absence of fans at sporting events and the postponement of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Barring anything unusual, the Olympics seem to be on track to return this year, and we will finally get to watch our favorite athletes return to the big stage. One of the players I am excited to see is the potential return of Puerto Rico tennis phenom Monica Puig.
Monica Puig hasn’t had a spectacular career on the WTA circuit, but she has racked up some serious accolades while representing Puerto Rico in the Pan American Games (Pan Am Games), Central American and Caribbean Games, and the Olympics. As a member of the Puerto Rican team, Puig has one Silver Medal in the singles event at the 2011 Pan Am Games and a Bronze in singles at the 2015 Pan Am Games. She also won the Gold Medal singles title at the Central American and Caribbean Games in 2010, 2014, and 2018. In addition to her singles titles, Monica has a Bronze in doubles at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games and a Bronze in mixed doubles at the 2010 Central and Caribbean Games. The highest finish in Puig’s career came when she claimed Gold at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio De Janeiro.
Puig’s Cinderella run to Gold at the 2016 Olympics was surprising for many reasons. The first being that she was a relatively unknown tennis player at the time, even though she already had previous success at the Pan Am Games and the Central American and Caribbean Games. The next reason is the country she represented. Prior to Puig’s win, Puerto Rico had won just eight olympics medals all-time and never Gold. Puig also became the first Latin American woman to win the singles title at the Olympics. The fourth reason her victory was so shocking was the fact that she became the only unseeded female player to win Gold since tennis was reintroduced to the Olympics in 1988. Finally, Monica capped off her tremendous Cinderella story by beating 11th seed Petra Kvitova in the Semi-Finals and the 2nd seed Angelique Kerber in the Gold Medal Match.
Monica Puig, who had been battling injuries in 2019, was still rehabbing in 2020 and might have missed out on her chance to defend her title had the Olympics not been postponed due to the pandemic. That postponement may have given Puig the chance to make a full recovery.
Hopefully, the Olympics get played this year, and we get the opportunity to see Monica compete for another Gold Medal.
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