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Monica Puig and the Rio 2016 gold
Puerto Rico's first Olympic gold medal in history, and the run nobody saw coming.
On August 13, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, Monica Puig won the gold medal in women's singles. It was the first gold medal Puerto Rico had won in its entire Olympic history, in any sport.
Nobody had her on the list
Puig did not arrive in Rio as a favorite. She was not among the seeds and had not won a big title. To reach the final she had to beat several top-ten players, one after another.
The final
In the final she faced Angelique Kerber, then world number two, who had won the Australian Open earlier that year. Puig won the match, and with it the gold.
What it meant on the island
It was the first time La Borinquena played at an Olympic medal ceremony. Puerto Rico had won medals before, in boxing and other sports, but never gold. The country stopped to watch the match.
For Puerto Rican tennis, the effect was immediate: a generation of kids watched someone from the island beat the best in the world.
After Rio
Puig, born in San Juan in 1993, kept competing on tour until injuries caught up with her. After several elbow and shoulder surgeries, she announced her retirement in 2022.
Read next: tennis in Puerto Rico and Gigi Fernandez.