Rio Olympics gold medalist Monica Puig retires from tennis
Olympic champion at 22, Retired at 28: Monica Puig looks ahead to a life in tennis after hanging up her racquets
Monica Puig at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janerio
Image Credit: Virginie Bouyer / Panoramic
Monica Puig, who won the singles gold medal at the Rio Olympics and became the first Puerto Rican in history to win an Olympic gold for her country, has announced her retirement from the sport after struggling with injuries over the past few seasons.
The 28-year-old Puerto Rican made the announcement on her Instagram account where she said, “Over the past 28 years of my life, tennis has been my constant. It has given me some of the most thrilling and memorable experiences I could have ever asked for. But, sometimes, good things come to an end. Today, I announce my retirement from tennis. After a tough 3 year fight with injuries and 4 surgeries, my body had enough.”
Puig added that she would have liked to go out of the sport on her own terms but plans to remain involved in the sport in different capacities.
“This decision isn’t an easy one because I would’ve loved to retire on my own terms, but sometimes life has other plans and we have to open new doors that lead to exciting possibilities. I would love to also announce that I will be very much active in the tennis world as a new full time member of the ESPN family, along with branching out into many other sports that I am passionate about! I will also be exploring consulting roles for young, up and coming tennis players, as well as with programs and academies.”
Puig signed off the note thanking the sport and looking forward to what’s ahead. “Thank you tennis. You have been everything. I owe you my life ❤️. Here’s to the next chapter, Monica”.
Besides her run to the Olympic singles gold, during which she beat three Grand Slams champions in Garbine Muguruza, Petra Kvitova and Angelique Kerber, Puig also won the Strasbourg event in 2014 and peaked at No 27 in the singles rankings. She earned over $3.5 million in career prize money and her best performance at a Major came at Wimbledon in 2013 when she reached the fourth round.
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