The Games of the XXXI Olympiad saw a string of captivating moments on the field of play against its arresting backdrop of mountains and beaches, but few sports at Rio 2016 saw excitement with such regularity as the tennis. The sport, just like its striking red-and-yellow coloured Centre Court that enjoyed a prominent position near the entrance to Barra Olympic Park, stood loud and proud in the carnival capital. 

The Olympic Tennis Event was littered with thrilling matches, stunning upsets and even relative home success, and highlighted by historic singles wins for both Andy Murray and Monica Puig. The latter’s triumph, in particular, read like a fairytale. 

Puig upset three Grand Slam champions - Garbine Muguruza, Petra Kvitova and Angelique Kerber – on her way to recording by far the biggest sporting achievement her country has ever seen. Indeed, the world No. 34 managed to clear the streets back in Puerto Rico, as a large majority of the 3.4 million population in her homeland crowded around televisions to watch the 22-year-old capture the nation’s first-ever Olympic gold medal.  

The first woman from the North Caribbean island to win any kind of medal at a Games, Puig ended her incredible week by defeating Kerber, the season’s standout player, with yet another fearless display. She cracked 54 winners in a 64 46 61 final victory that was fuelled by the flag upon her chest, as much as anything else. 

"It's just amazing," Puig said. "I know my country really appreciates this, and I really wanted to give this victory to them. I just achieved one of my biggest dreams.” 

Murray, too, hit new heights in country colours, even if his gold medal was rather more widely anticipated than Puig’s. Already the reigning Olympic champion, having defeated Roger Federer to win gold at London 2012, Murray finally felled Juan Martin del Potro 75 46 62 75 in an gruelling men’s final that lasted four hours and two minutes to become the first player in history to win two singles gold medals. 

“The fact that it hasn’t been done before obviously shows that it’s very hard. I’m very proud to have been the first one to have done that,” said Murray after fighting through what he later described as “one of the hardest matches that I’ve had to play for a big, big title”. 

Del Potro had blasted world No. 1 Novak Djokovic off the court in straight sets in the opening round, and it was only Murray’s sheer bloody-mindedness that prevented him from suffering a similar fate in a gripping gold medal match. Del Potro’s forehand was seemingly more ferocious than it had been before all his wrist troubles, and it required every ounce of Murray’s resolve to dismantle the gentle giant. That same steely trait served the world No. 2 well throughout his time in Rio. Twice he had to recover from a break down in the deciding set earlier in the week, eventually seeing off Fabio Fognini, in the third round, and Steve Johnson in the quarterfinals. 

While Murray made history, del Potro delivered a week of performances equally worthy of a place atop the podium. Not since January 2014, when he won the title in Sydney, had Del Potro managed to string four straight wins together at tour level. At the Olympics, he managed five – seeing off two of the top three seeds in Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, whom he dispatched in three thrilling sets in the semifinals, 57 64 76(5), to guarantee himself silver and upgrade his bronze medal from London 2012. 

"This will be for the rest of my life on my mind," said the emotional Argentine. "I never thought something like this [could happen] at the beginning of the tournament. It's like a dream." 

Nadal, for whom the Olympics also marked a return to form following a wrist injury that had kept him off the tour since May, also had a tournament to remember. 

The 2008 Beijing gold medallist had made it his mission to compete in Rio having missed the chance to defend his title at London 2012 with a knee injury, and took great pride in carrying the Spanish flag in to the Maracana Stadium at the Opening Ceremony, something he said “will stay in my mind for the rest of my life.” 

On court, Nadal’s efforts were rewarded with another gold medal, this time alongside compatriot Marc Lopez after the pair defeated Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau 62 36 64 in a high-quality men’s doubles final. 

“It was [an] amazing experience, especially doing that with one of my best friends, with Marc, is something unforgettable for me. For both of us,” said the 30-year-old Manacor native, who became only the second man to win gold medals in both singles and doubles since tennis returned to the Olympics as a full medal sport in 1988.   

Nadal came up just short of winning another medal in singles, falling to Kei Nishikori 62 67(1) 63 in the bronze medal play-off after the latter secured Japan’s first Olympic tennis medal in 96 years, and their third in history. It was an apt stage for Nishikori’s success, given that Brazil is home to the world’s largest Japanese population outside of his motherland. 

The Brazilian crowd had a little less to shout about after they were left to mourn the demise of arguably their best medal hope – the men’s doubles team of Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares in the quarterfinals – but Sao Paulo native Thomaz Bellucci provided several high notes in the singles, defeating two seeded players in a plucky run to the quarterfinals that cranked up the noise on Centre Court to deafening levels. 

It was perhaps fitting that the women’s doubles final was won by Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina, given that the Russian duo had endured a nightmare journey to the Brazilian capital that nearly derailed their hopes of fulfilling a lifelong dream. Having been held up in Montreal where they had won the title the previous week, the pair made the most of being in Rio once finally there – beating Swiss pair Timea Bacsinszky and Martina Hingis to the gold medal. 

“We wanted an Olympic medal, especially gold medal, since we were juniors," said Makarova. “We're so happy that we won two Grand Slams, but the Olympic Games for us means much more. Our dream came true." 

Serena Williams, meanwhile, endured a torrid Olympics by her sublime standards. Both she and sister Venus had hoped to claim their fifth gold medals to extend their joint-record for most golds won in Olympic tennis, but only Venus came away from Rio with a medal after taking silver alongside Rajeev Ram in the mixed doubles.  

World No. 1 Serena, later citing a shoulder injury, was dumped out of the singles by Elina Svitolina in straight sets in the third round, while Venus lost to Kirsten Flipkens in her opening match. It was a story of similar woe for the sisters in the doubles, as the top seeds fell in the first round to eventual bronze medal winners Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova.  

In spite of a tough tournament for the Williams sisters, Americans still enjoyed a healthy presence on the podium. Jack Sock and Bethanie Mattek-Sands edged Venus and Ram to gold in a tight mixed doubles final, while Sock doubled up with Steve Johnson to take bronze in the men’s doubles. Madison Keys was perhaps unlucky not to come away with a medal, her otherwise fine tournament ending with back-to-back defeats to Kerber in the semifinals and Kvitova in a three-set bronze medal play-off.  

The power of the Olympics was perhaps most evident in the reaction of Radek Stepanek, who was close to tears after securing mixed doubles bronze alongside Lucie Hradecka to ensure five Czech players took tennis medals home from Rio. 

“I can compare this with the Davis Cup finals… I think the nicest, deepest and strongest emotions you can only achieve when you play for your country,” said Stepanek, the first Czech male to win an Olympic tennis medal in 28 years. “It is something amazingly special.” 

This article was first published in the ITF's 'LoveRio' Olympic magazine.