Monica Puig Marchán,

(born September 27, 1993) is a Puerto Rican former professional

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player. She is the first Puerto Rican in history to win a gold medal at the Olympics while representing

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, having done so in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

at the women's singles event. She is also a Central American and Caribbean champion and

Pan American Pan-American, Pan American, Panamerican, Pan-America, Pan America or Panamerica may refer to: * Collectively, the Americas: North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean * Something of, from, or related to the Americas * Pan-Amer ...

silver medalist. Having turned professional in 2010, Puig won two WTA singles titles and six ITF singles titles. On 26 September 2016, she reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 27. On 25 May 2015, she peaked at No. 210 in the doubles rankings. She retired as a professional tennis player on 13 June 2022. At the

2016 Rio Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

, Puig won the gold medal, the ninth overall medal at the Games for Puerto Rico. With the feat, she also became the first Latin American champion in the women's singles discipline and is the only unseeded female player to win the gold medal since the reintroduction of tennis in 1988. During her career, Puig has defeated top-ten players

Sara Errani Sara Errani (; born 29 April 1987) is an Italian professional tennis player. She is a former top five player in singles and former world No. 1 in doubles. With 9 singles titles and 27 doubles titles (including 5 Grand Slam doubles championship ...

Caroline Garcia Caroline Garcia (, born 16 October 1993) is a French professional tennis player. She has been ranked in the top 5 in both singles at world No. 4 and in doubles at world No. 2. Garcia is the 2022 WTA Finals singles champion. She is also a two- ...

Angelique Kerber Angelique Kerber (; born 18 January 1988) is a German professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as world No. 1, for a total of 34 weeks, and won three major titles at the 2016 Australian Open, the 2016 US Open, and the 2018 Wi ...

Garbiñe Muguruza Garbiñe Muguruza Blanco (; born 8 October 1993) is a Spanish-Venezuelan professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 1 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), and a career-high doubles ranking of world No. ...

Aryna Sabalenka Aryna Siarhiejeŭna Sabalenka ( be, Арына Сяргееўна Сабаленка; russian: Арина Сергеевна Соболенко, ''Arina Sergeyevna Sobolenko'', born 5 May 1998) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. She ha ...

, and

Caroline Wozniacki Caroline Wozniacki (; born 11 July 1990) is a Danish former professional tennis player. She was ranked world No. 1 in singles for a total of 71 weeks, including at the end of 2010 and 2011. She achieved the top ranking for the first time on 11 ...

Early life

Monica Puig Marchán was born to a

Cuban American Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cuban descent or t ...

father, José Puig, and a Puerto Rican mother, Astrid Marchán. Puig stated her paternal grandparents are

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

Tennis career

Junior career

In 2007, she entered her first tournament at the Prince Cup, but withdrew from the qualifying draw. In 2008, she started the season with a surprise run to the final of the Costa Rica Bowl (Grade 3) as a qualifier losing in straight sets to

Eugenie Bouchard Eugenie "Genie" Bouchard (; french: Eugénie Bouchard, ; born February 25, 1994) is a Canadian tennis player. At the 2014 Wimbledon Championships, she became the first Canadian-born player representing Canada to reach the final of a Grand Slam t ...

. She continued her good form, winning two out of three tournaments. Puig continued good results in small Grade-3 and-4 tournaments. In her first Grade-1 tournament in Lexington, she defeated Charlotte Calhoun before going out to Lauren Embree. She continued to participate in bigger tournaments, though not with as much success as she had in the smaller ones. Puig had her breakthrough season in 2009; she started doing much better in the bigger tournaments. She reached her first Grade-1 final in Casablanca, losing to Mai Grage of Denmark. She continued playing consistently, highlights of the latter months of the year included a semifinal appearance at a Grade-B1 tournament in Tulsa, losing to Bouchard in three sets. In her next tournament, she won the doubles title. In 2010, she continued her success at a higher level. Puig started the year reaching the final of the 32nd International Casablanca Junior Cup (Grade A), falling easily to

Sachie Ishizu Sachie Ishizu ( ja, 石津幸恵, Ishizu Sachie) is a former professional tennis player from Japan. Tennis career She was runner-up in the girls' singles event of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships and reached a highest ranking of No. 5 on the ...

of Japan. She then reached another final a week later at the Coffee Bowl (Grade 1) losing to

An-Sophie Mestach An-Sophie Mestach (born 7 March 1994) is a Belgian retired tennis player. In her career, Mestach won two doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as six singles titles and eight doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 14 September 2015, she reac ...

of Belgium in straights. Puig followed that up with a semifinal appearance at a Grade-1 tournament in Barranquilla. Consistent results followed, before a huge Grade-A title at the 27th Copa Gerdau, defeating

Jessica Pegula Jessica Pegula (born February 24, 1994) is an American professional tennis player. She has a career-high WTA rankings in singles and doubles of world No. 3, both achieved on October 24, 2022. She has won two singles titles and five doubles title ...

in the final. After a semifinal appearance at another Grade-A calibre tournament, she fell in the quarterfinals of the French Open. After that, she failed to advance past the quarterfinals of any of her tournaments until the US Open, where she lost to

Yulia Putintseva Yulia Antonovna Putintseva ( rus, Ю́лия Анто́новна Пути́нцева; , ''puh-TEEN-tseh-vah''; born 7 January 1995) is a Russian-born Kazakhstani professional tennis player. She is a three-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist (twic ...

. Puig finished the season with a flourish, falling in the quarterfinals of

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

(Grade A), the final of Mérida (Grade 1) and the semis of

Key Biscayne Key Biscayne ( es, Cayo Vizcaíno, link=no) is an island located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, located between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. It is the southernmost of the barrier islands along the Atlantic coast of Florida, and lies sou ...

(Grade A), both to

Lauren Davis Lauren Davis (born October 9, 1993) is an American professional tennis player. Known for her aggressive backhand, speed, and clay-court strength, she won her first title on the WTA Tour at the Auckland Open and reached a career-high singles ra ...

. In July, Puig won the gold medal in women's singles at the

Central American and Caribbean Games The Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC or CACGs) are a multi-sport regional championship event, held quadrennial (once every four years), typically in the middle (even) year between Summer Olympics. The games are for countries in Cent ...

. At the

Youth Olympics The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is an international multi-sport event for athletes between 15 and 18 years old, organized by the International Olympic Committee. The games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consisten ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

, she was the second seed in the singles event but lost in the first round to

Zheng Saisai Zheng Saisai or Zheng Sai-Sai (; born February 5, 1994) is a Chinese tennis player. She won one WTA singles title (at the Premier level 2019 Silicon Valley Classic), five WTA doubles titles, and reached the final of the 2019 French Open in dou ...

of China, in straight sets.

2011: Junior Grand Slam finals in Melbourne and Roland Garros

In January, Puig won the Loy Yang Traralgon International defeating

of Russia. Puig was also in the juniors event of the Australian Open. She qualified for the final but lost to Belgian

. On February 20, Puig won the singles title in Surprise, Arizona defeating

Lenka Wienerová Lenka Wienerová (born 23 April 1988) is a Slovak former tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a ten ...

, in straight sets. Puig received a

wildcard Wild card most commonly refers to: * Wild card (cards), a playing card that substitutes for any other card in card games * Wild card (sports), a tournament or playoff place awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal pla ...

into the qualifying draw of the Indian Wells Open. She defeated

Anne Keothavong Anne Viensouk Keothavong (born 16 September 1983) is a retired British tennis player. During her career, she won a total of 28 titles on the ITF Women's Circuit, and reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 48 (achieved on 23 Febru ...

in the first round but was then knocked out by

Sorana Cîrstea Sorana Mihaela Cîrstea (; born 7 April 1990) is a Romanian professional tennis player. In singles, she achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 21 on 12 August 2013. In doubles, her career-high ranking is No. 35, which she reached on 9 March ...

, in three sets. In the juniors event of the French Open, she also qualified for the final but lost to Tunisian

Ons Jabeur Ons Jabeur ( ar, أُنْس جَابِر, ʾUns Jābir, ; born 28 August 1994) is a Tunisian professional tennis player. She has a career high Women's Tennis Association (WTA) ranking of world No. 2 achieved on 27 June 2022. Jabeur is the curr ...

. Puig won the silver medal at the Pan American Games after defeating

Christina McHale Christina Marietta McHale (born May 11, 1992) is an American former professional tennis player. Her highest-ever WTA rankings were No. 24 in singles and No. 35 in doubles. Known for an aggressive baseline game, McHale was recognized by ''The New ...

of the United States to advance to the gold medal round. She lost to

Irina Falconi Irina Falconi ( es, Falconí; born May 4, 1990) is an Ecuadorian-born American former tennis player. She moved to Manhattan, New York, as a toddler. Her highest WTA singles ranking is world No. 63, which she reached in May 2016. Her career-high ...

of the United States in the final.

2012: Reaching the top 200

In January 2012, Puig entered the Auckland Open, ranked 213 in the world, and won the first and second round of qualifying matches, but lost in the last round to the No. 145 in the world,

Karolína Plíšková Karolína Hrdličková (née Plíšková; ; born 21 March 1992) is a Czech professional tennis player. She is a former world No. 1 in singles, reaching the top of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings on 17 July 2017 and holding the posi ...

. On 16 January, she entered the Australian Open qualifying draw ranked 209, and lost in the second round to

Kirsten Flipkens Kirsten "Flipper" Flipkens (; born 10 January 1986) is a Belgian professional tennis player. She has a career-high ranking of No. 13 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Flipkens has won one singles title on the WTA Tour, winning the 2012 T ...

. At the

Andrézieux-Bouthéon Andrézieux-Bouthéon (; frp, link=no, Andrèsiô-Botion) is a commune of the Loire department in central France. It lies on the right bank of the river Loire, at its confluence with the river Furan. Population Sights * Le Château Bouthéon ...

$25k tournament, she won two qualifying matches but lost in the first round to

Magda Linette Magda Linette (born 12 February 1992) is a Polish professional tennis player. Having made her tour debut in 2009, she reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 33 in February 2020. Linette has reached five finals on the WTA Tour, winning ...

of Poland. In the following month, Puig played on the qualifying draw of two WTA Tour events, in Bogotá and Monterrey, without being able to get past the first round of the main draw. She received a wildcard to play in the

Indian Wells Masters The Indian Wells Masters, also known as the Indian Wells Open and BNP Paribas Open is an annual tennis tournament usually held in early- and mid-March at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, United States. The owner is ...

qualifying draw, but, in the second round, lost to world No. 66,

Eleni Daniilidou Eleni Daniilidou ( el, Ελένη Δανιηλίδου; ; born 19 September 1982) is a Greek former tennis player from the island of Crete. She is considered one of the best Greek tennis players of the Open Era, winning five singles titles and t ...

. Her breakthrough came when she reached the final of the

Poza Rica Poza Rica (), formally: Poza Rica de Hidalgo is a city and its surrounding municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz. Its name means "rich well/pond". It is often thought that the name came to be because it was a place known for its abundance ...

$25k tournament unseeded. The last two matches prior to the final included wins against tournament seeds No. 4 and 1, although she lost to second seed

Yaroslava Shvedova Yaroslava Vyacheslavovna Shvedova (; born 12 September 1987) is a Kazakhstani former professional tennis player. Before 2008, she represented her country of birth, Russia. She won one singles title and 13 doubles titles on the WTA Tour, plus o ...

. The second breakthrough of 2012 occurred when she won the first $50k tournament of her career at

Joué-lès-Tours Joué-lès-Tours (, literally ''Joué near Tours'') is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. It is the largest suburb of the city of Tours, and is adjacent to it on the southwest. Population Toponymy The name of Jou� ...

, France. Puig opened the first round by eliminating the top-seed and world ranked 87,

Alexandra Panova Alexandra Alexandrovna Panova (russian: Александра Александровна Панова; born 2 March 1989) is a Russian professional tennis player. On 30 July 2012, she achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 71. On 18 ...

. In the semifinals, she defeated An-Sophie Mestach, the same opponent to whom she lost in the 2011 Australian Open junior final.

2013: Entering the top 100

Puig began her season at the

Brisbane International The Brisbane International established in 2009 is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hardcourts in Brisbane, Queensland in Australia. It is a WTA Premier tournament of the WTA Tour and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 seri ...

. After coming through qualifying, she reached the second round where she lost to fourth seed

. At the Australian Open, Puig was defeated in the first round of qualifying by Wang Qiang. In Paris at the WTA indoor event, Puig lost in the final round of qualifying to Stefanie Vögele. Seeded eighth at the $100k

Midland Classic Diamond East Midlands, formerly Midland Classic, is a bus company from Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. Since August 2022, the company is a subsidiary of Rotala. History Midland Classic Midland Classic was founded in July 2005 by ...

, Puig reached the semifinal where she was defeated by top seed and eventual champion,

2014–15: First WTA title, high ranking of No. 41

In May, she played and won her first WTA final in Strasbourg, defeating Sílvia Soler Espinosa. This success took her to her highest WTA ranking 41st. In October 2014, Puig won first place at the WTA Rising Stars Invitational in

. Puig defeated Zheng Saisai in two sets. At the end of the year, she was world No. 59. In this same year, she also won the gold medal at the

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

representing Puerto Rico.

2016: Breakthrough and Olympic gold medal

Puig started the season strongly in Sydney. As a qualifier, she went on to defeat

Magdaléna Rybáriková Magdaléna Rybáriková (; born 4 October 1988) is a retired Slovak tennis player. In her career, she won four singles titles and one doubles title on the WTA Tour. Rybáriková reached the semifinals of the 2017 Wimbledon Championships and br ...

, Anna Karolína Schmiedlová,

Samantha Stosur Samantha Jane Stosur ( ; born 30 March 1984) is an Australian professional tennis player. She is a former world No. 1 in doubles, a ranking which she first achieved on 6 February 2006 and held for 61 consecutive weeks. Also a former top ten s ...

, and

Belinda Bencic Belinda Bencic ( sk, Belinda Benčičová, ; born 10 March 1997) is a Swiss professional tennis player. She has a career-high ranking of No. 4 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) which she achieved in February 2020. Bencic has won six singl ...

before losing in her second WTA final to Svetlana Kuznetsova. At the Australian Open, she reached the third round, defeating Magda Linette and

Kristýna Plíšková Kristýna Plíšková (; born 21 March 1992) is an inactive Czech professional tennis player. Plíšková has won one singles and four doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as nine singles and eight doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 31 Ju ...

before losing to the fourth seed

Agnieszka Radwańska Agnieszka Roma Radwańska (; born 6 March 1989) is a Polish former professional tennis player. She won 20 career singles WTA Tour titles, two doubles titles, and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 2 on 9 July 2012. Her achiev ...

. She repeated her Australian Open success to reach the third round at the French Open, defeating

Olga Govortsova Olga Alekseyevna Govortsova ( be, Вольга Аляксееўна Гаварцова (Volha Alyakseyeuna Havartsova); ; born 23 August 1988) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. On 23 June 2008, she achieved a career-high singles ranki ...

and Julia Görges, before losing to the 15th seed

Madison Keys Madison Keys (born February 17, 1995) is an American professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as world No. 7 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), a ranking she first achieved in October 2016. Keys has played in one Grand Sla ...

. In the

Eastbourne International The Eastbourne International is a tennis tournament on the WTA Tour and the ATP Tour held at the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club, Eastbourne, United Kingdom. Held since 1974, it is classified as a WTA 500 series on the WTA Tour and an ATP Tour 2 ...

, Puig progressed as far as to the semifinals after beating

Kristina Mladenovic Kristina "Kiki" Mladenovic (; sr, Кристина "Кики" Младеновић, Kristina "Kiki" Mladenović, ; born 14 May 1993) is a French professional tennis player and a former world No. 1 in doubles. She is a nine-time Grand Slam c ...

. She progressed on Wimbledon and faced home player

Johanna Konta Johanna Konta (born 17 May 1991) is a British former professional tennis player, having represented Australia until 2012. She won four singles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as 11 singles and four doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. The ...

in the first round, in which Puig lost in two sets. At the Rio Summer Olympics, Puig won the women's singles gold medal by defeating

Polona Hercog Polona Hercog (, born 20 January 1991) is a Slovenian professional tennis player. Her career-high WTA rankings are 35 in singles and 56 in doubles. She has won five titles on the WTA Tour, three in singles and two in doubles. Hercog also enjoye ...

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Anastasia Sergeyevna "Nastia" Pavlyuchenkova (russian: Анастаси́я "Настя" Серге́евна Павлюче́нкова; born 3 July 1991) is an inactive Russian professional tennis player. A junior prodigy, Pavlyuchenkova won ...

Laura Siegemund Laura Natalie Siegemund (born 4 March 1988, in Filderstadt) is a German professional tennis player. She is a two-time Grand Slam champion, having won the 2020 US Open in women's doubles with Vera Zvonareva, as well as the 2016 US Open in mi ...

Petra Kvitová Petra Kvitová, OLY ( , ; born 8 March 1990) is a Czech professional tennis player. Known for her powerful left-handed groundstrokes and variety, Kvitová has won 29 career singles titles, including two major titles at Wimbledon in 2011 and ...

, and finally Angelique Kerber. Puig became the second unseeded player to win a medal at the Olympics after Alicia Molik had won bronze in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

and the first athlete representing Puerto Rico to win a gold medal in any sport. In Puerto Rico's Olympic history, Puig is the ninth sportsperson and the first woman to win an Olympic medal. She is the first Latin American representative to win the gold medal in singles and the second to win a medal, after

Gabriela Sabatini Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini (; born 16 May 1970) is an Argentine-Italian former professional tennis player. A former world No. 3 in both singles and doubles, Sabatini was one of the leading players from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, amassing 41 ...

won silver at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

. In November, Puig was presented the award for Best Female Athlete in Rio 2016 presented by the

Association of National Olympic Committees The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) is an international organization that affiliates the current 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Each year it gathers all its membe ...

(ANOC). She was not originally seeded at the US Open, but after a withdrawal of Sloane Stephens, Puig became the 32nd seed. She lost in the first round to Zheng Saisai, and also in doubles with

Mariana Duque-Mariño Mariana may refer to: Literature * ''Mariana'' (Dickens novel), a 1940 novel by Monica Dickens * ''Mariana'' (poem), a poem by Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson * ''Mariana'' (Vaz novel), a 1997 novel by Katherine Vaz Music *"Mariana", a so ...

Nicole Gibbs Nicole Gibbs (born March 3, 1993) is an American retired tennis player. She won seven singles and five doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 25 July 2016, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 68. On 19 September 2016, she peaked at ...

and

Nao Hibino is a Japanese professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as No. 56 in singles and No. 43 in doubles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Hibino has won two singles and two doubles titles on the WTA Tour. Along with that, she ...

, and concluded the season with a career best year-end ranking of 32.

2017: Loss of form

Puig was unable to replicate her success throughout 2017 and fell out of the top 50 in June. By losing in three sets to

Mirjana Lučić-Baroni Mirjana Lučić-Baroni (; ; born 9 March 1982) is a Croatian former professional tennis player. She enjoyed a meteoric rise on the WTA Tour in the late 1990s, during which she set several "youngest-ever" records. She captured the women's doubles ...

in the first round of the US Open, she concluded her 2017 season without advancing past the second round of any

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

or Premier Mandatory tournament. However, she did end the season on a high note by reaching her fourth career WTA Tour final at the

Luxembourg Open Luxembourg Open, Tennis tournaments in Luxembourg Indoor tennis tournaments Hard court tennis tournaments WTA Tour Kockelscheuer Recurring sporting events established in 1991 Autumn events in Luxembourg 1991 establishments in Luxembourg ...

2018

Puig started the season at the Auckland Open where she lost in the first round to second seed and eventual champion, Julia Görges. At the Sydney International, she was defeated in the final round of qualifying by

Kristie Ahn Kristie Hyerim Ahn (born June 15, 1992) is an American former professional tennis player. She has won seven singles titles and two doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 30 September 2019, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 87. He ...

. Puig beat Sam Stosur in the first round of the Australian Open; she lost in the second round to Kaia Kanepi. In February, Puig competed at the Mexican Open and was defeated in the second round by qualifier

Rebecca Peterson Rebecca Peterson (born 6 August 1995) is a Swedish tennis player. She has been ranked as high as 43 in singles and 87 in doubles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Peterson has reached two singles finals on the WTA Tour in 2019, winning bo ...

. At the Indian Wells Open, she lost in round two to 21st seed

Anastasija Sevastova Anastasija Sevastova (born 13 April 1990) is an inactive professional tennis player from Latvia. She reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 in October 2018, after reaching her first Premier Mandatory final at the China Open. She ...

. Puig had a great run at the Miami Open as she stunned second seed Caroline Wozniacki in the second round. However, she was defeated in the fourth round by American qualifier Danielle Collins. Seeded fifth at the

Monterrey Open The Monterrey Open is a professional women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. The event is affiliated with the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), and is part of the 250 series on the WTA Tour. From 2009 to 2013, the tournament wa ...

, Puig reached the quarterfinals where she lost to 2012 champion Tímea Babos. Puig began her clay-court season in May at the

Madrid Open There are three sporting events known as the Madrid Open: * Madrid Open (golf) The Madrid Open was an annual men's golf tournament which was held in and around the Spanish capital Madrid from 1968 to 2007, apart from a seven-year gap from 1994 to ...

. She was defeated in the second round by tenth seed, two-time champion, and eventual champion Petra Kvitová. Puig retired from her qualifying match in Rome at the Italian Open to Donna Vekić due to a right hip strain. As a result of that injury, she withdrew from the

Internationaux de Strasbourg The Internationaux de Strasbourg (formally known as the Strasbourg Grand Prix) is a professional women's tennis tournament held in Strasbourg, France. It is an International-level outdoor event of the WTA Tour played on clay courts. The tournamen ...

and the French Open. Puig returned to action in July at the

Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is pla ...

where she lost in the first round to 13th seed and eventual semifinalist, Julia Görges.

2019

Puig started her 2019 season at the Auckland Open where she lost in the second round to third seed

Hsieh Su-wei Hsieh Su-wei ( ;''Xiè 謝淑薇Shūwēi'' in Chinese mainland. Taiwanese Mandarin: ; in Standard Mandarin of Chinese mainland. born 4 January 1986) is an inactive Taiwanese professional tennis player. She has won three singles titles and 30 ...

. In Sydney, she was defeated in the final round of qualifying by Aliaksandra Sasnovich. However, due to

Naomi Osaka is a Japanese professional tennis player. She has been ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and is the first Asian player to hold the top ranking in singles. Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam singles champio ...

withdrawing from the tournament, she entered the main draw as a lucky loser. She lost in the first round to

Anett Kontaveit Anett Kontaveit (; born 24 December 1995) is an Estonian professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as world No. 2 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), which she first achieved on 6 June 2022, making her the highest-ranked Eston ...

. Ranked 54 at the Australian Open, she was eliminated in the first round by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Playing for Puerto Rico in the

Fed Cup The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was chan ...

tie against Colombia, Puig won her match over María Fernanda Herazo. Colombia ended up winning the tie over Puerto Rico 2–1. In Acapulco, she upset sixth seed

Maria Sakkari Maria Sakkari ( gr, Μαρία Σάκκαρη, ; born 25 July 1995) is a Greek professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as world No. 3 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), which she first achieved on 21 March 2022, making her ...

in the first round. She then retired during her second-round match against

Wang Yafan Wang Yafan (; ; born 30 April 1994) is a Chinese tennis player. In her career, she has won one singles title and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as four doubles titles on WTA 125 tournaments, plus eleven singles and six doubles ...

due to food poisoning. At the Indian Wells Open, she was beaten in the second round by 21st seed Anett Kontaveit. At the Miami Open, she lost in the first round to Chinese wildcard

Wang Xiyu Wang Xiyu (; ; born 28 March 2001) is a Chinese tennis player. On 7 November 2022, she reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 50. On 27 May 2019, she peaked at No. 240 in the WTA doubles rankings. Junior career Junior Grand Slam ...

. Puig kicked off her clay-court season at the

Charleston Open The Credit One Charleston Open, formerly known as the Volvo Car Open and the Family Circle Cup, is a WTA Tour-affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every year since 1973. It is the oldest professional all-women's tournament in ...

2020

Puig missed the Auckland Open and the Australian Open due to her undergoing right elbow surgery. She returned to the tour in August at the Cincinnati Open and lost in the first round of qualifying to American wildcard

Katie Volynets Katie Volynets (born December 31, 2001) is an American tennis player. She achieved a career-high singles ranking of No. 92 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) on February 27, 2023. She won her first singles title in May 2021 on the ITF Circ ...

. At the US Open, she was defeated in the first round by Margarita Gasparyan. Competing at the French Open, Puig lost her first-round match to 2012 finalist and qualifier, Sara Errani. Puig ended the year ranked 105.

2022: Comeback & retirement

She made a comeback after two years at the

where she lost to

Danielle Collins Danielle Rose Collins (born December 13, 1993) is an American professional tennis player. She has reached career-high WTA rankings of No. 7 in singles and world No. 86 in doubles. Collins has won two WTA Tour singles titles, at the 2021 Palerm ...

in the first round, in straight sets. Puig retired in June 2022 due to the cumulative effects of repeated injuries she sustained throughout her career.

Coaching

Puig has had multiple coaches in her career, including Alain De Vos (2008–2014), Ricardo Sánchez (2014–2015), Juan Todero (2015–2018), Kamau Murray and Othmane Garma (2019), Philippe DeHaes, and Diego Veronelli. In August 2020, she announced the return of Juan Todero as her coach. At the end of 2021 she announced

Dorian Descloix Dorian Descloix (born 14 March 1988) is a French tennis coach and retired player. Descloix has a career high ATP singles ranking of 666 achieved on 26 July 2010. He also has a career high ATP doubles ranking of 562 achieved on 10 October 2011. ...

will be her new coach

World TeamTennis

Puig has played one season of

World TeamTennis World TeamTennis (WTT) is a mixed-gender professional tennis league played with a team format in the United States, which was founded in 1973. The league's season normally takes place in the summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA take a ...

making her debut in 2019 with the

Vegas Rollers The Vegas Rollers are a World TeamTennis (WTT) franchise founded in 2019, owned by the league. The team was one of two expansion teams to enter the league in 2019 alongside Orlando Storm. The Vegas Rollers will play their home matches at the Orle ...

for their inaugural season. It had been announced that Puig wanted to return to the

during the 2020 WTT season.

Personal life

Puig became engaged to Nathan Rakitt in 2021., and they got married on November 11, 2022.

Career statistics

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

Singles

Notes * Grand Slam performances source

Olympic final

Singles: 1 (gold medal)

Notes

References

External links

* * *
Rio 2016 Olympic Tennis Event: Women's Singles Bracket

Monica Puig: Profile at Rio Olympics Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Puig, Monica 1993 births Living people Puerto Rican people of Cuban descent Puerto Rican people of Catalan descent Sportspeople from San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican female tennis players Tennis players at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics Tennis players at the 2011 Pan American Games Tennis players at the 2015 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for Puerto Rico Olympic tennis players of Puerto Rico Tennis players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Puerto Rico Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in tennis Tennis players from Miami Pan American Games medalists in tennis Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Puerto Rico Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalists for Puerto Rico Competitors at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in tennis Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games