There was sufficient of evidence in Paris to support the argument that Olympic tennis matters just as much as the four majors, if passion is the yardstick by which this is measured.
A moved Novak Djokovic referred to his gold medal victory over Carlos Alcaraz as the “biggest success of his career” on Sunday. There are twenty-four slams on him. The Spaniard was so devastated that he sobbed during an interview with Alex Corretja.
Iga Swiatek is sometimes seen as an automaton who wins a lot of tennis tournaments, but this opinion is hidden beneath her hat. Having won 25 straight titles in her home country of Roland Garros, the No. 1 seed found it all too much to lose to eventual gold medallist Zheng Qinwen in the Olympic semi-final.
During a post-match interview with Polish TV, tears were shed. Swiatek was unable to process what had just transpired. She was unable to speak. This was the terrible truth of what it’s like to play professional tennis. After a six-decade break, the sport was finally added back to the Olympic Games in 1988, but since then, it has produced some of the most captivating tales and feelings on the court.
When fate called, Steffi Graf might have sympathized with Swiatek’s experiences. In the women’s singles final of the 1992 Barcelona Games, the 22-time winner of the Singles Slam was defeated by the 16-year-old Jennifer Capriati. It was so intensely emotional that it gave me the goosebumps. This is not credible. Really, I find it unbelievable. The young champion remarked, “I’ve been watching all the other athletes up there on the victory stand for the last two weeks, and I thought, Wow, that would be so cool.” That perfectly captures the spirit of tennis at the Olympics.
Though none of Andy Murray’s three Grand Slam victories are as cherished as his two Wimbledon crowns, it’s likely that his triumphs at the London Olympics, which occurred just one month before to his breakthrough at Flushing Meadows, made it possible for him to win the first ever U.S. Open in 2012. In front of a partizan, very non-traditional SW19 audience, he defeated Roger Federer in straight sets on Centre Court, setting the stage for what was to come.
In the Rio Olympic final four years later, Murray and Juan Martin Del Potro—two of the game’s greatest warriors—came together in an amazing way. With numerous service interruptions, the match’s quality wasn’t the greatest. The unique thing was how much they both desired it. Del Potro declared, “I’m living a dream once again,” following Murray’s four-set victory over him. The Argentinean had recovered incredibly bravely from multiple wrist surgery to make the most poignant comeback.
Zverev, two sets up against Dominic Thiem, had just missed his chance to win his maiden grand slam in New York in 2020. In Tokyo, gold served as more than simply a moisturizer. “I believe that you’re competing for everyone involved—everyone in Germany who is rooting for me and all the competitors here, not just yourself. Therefore, I don’t think there is anything that can match to the sentiments I have and will likely have over the following few days,” the German stated.
She recognized a pattern when Martina Navratilova and other tennis players berated players for not wanting to participate in Wimbledon 2022 due to a lack of ranking points. It was a real, live opportunity to win a major international event, not just “an exhibition.” Even in the absence of points and money, trophies are important.
When Monica Puig defeated Angelique Kerber in 2016 to become one of the most unexpected champions, she had no expectations. “I would always pick the Olympic medal over a Grand Slam whenever someone asks which I would prefer. What it meant to me and what it meant for my nation. There is an Olympics every four years and four Grand Slams annually. You possess an extremely unique quality,” the Puerto Rican told the WTA website.
Some may object to Djokovic’s wish to take home the gold given his prior remarks that he had won every award. The Olympic Spirit is, in fact, very much alive and kicking. The Summer Games are all about tennis.