By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday June 13, 2022
Monica Puig, the first Olympic gold medal winner in Puerto Rico’s history, and a former World No.27 on the WTA Tour, has announced her retirement from tennis at the age of 28.
“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,” she wrote in an Instagram post.
Puig has struggled with injuries over the last few years, and decided that her body just couldn’t handle the stress of the sport anymore.
"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,” she wrote. “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 recorded seven consecutive Top-100 finishes, from 2013 to 2019, but none of her achievements will come close to matching what she did at the 2016 OIympics in Rio. Puig recorded 19 Top-20 victories in her career, but only once did she record more than one at the same event. That event was the Olympic games in 2016, where she knocked off four Top-20 players – Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Garbine Muguruza, Petra Kvitova and Angelique Kerber – en route to the gold medal.
“There are so many people that I would like to thank,” she said. “My family for certain, my mom who has been with me on this crazy rollercoaster since day one, my dad, brother, fiancé, all my coaches, my agent Marijn, IMG, WTA, PRTA, COPUR, sponsors, and of course my fans. Without you guys, I wouldn’t have had the courage to fight for my dreams day in and day out.
“Thank you tennis. You have been everything. I owe you my life ❤️ Here’s to the next chapter.”