Monica Puig

Bio:
Monica Puig (born Monica Puig Marchan on September 27, 1993 in Hato Ray, San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican professional tennis player. She entered her first tennis tournament at the Prince Cup in 2007. In 2008, she accelerated to the final of the Costa Rica Bowl in a surprise run. She began competing in larger competitions and had a breakthrough season in 2009. In 2010, she continued her winning streak at a higher level, reaching the final of the 32nd International Casablanca Junior Cup. She won a Grade A title at the 27th Copa Gerdau. In July 2010, Monica won the gold medal in the women’s tennis singles event at the Central American and Carribbean Games. In 2013, Monica entered the top 100 after defeating the number 8 seed and former top-15 player Julia Gorges at the Portugal Open. She went on to beat former French Open Champion, Francesca Schiavone, before losing in the quarterfinals to the number 4 seed. She also made it deep into the 2013 Wimbledon Championships, but lost in the fourth round to Sloane Stephens. She ranked 56th at the end of the year. In 2014, Monica won her first WTA title and reached her highest ranking at number 41. In 2015, she had less of a breakthrough year, but still remained in the top 100 as number 92. In 2016, Monica qualified for the Olympic Games in Rio and took down three Grand Slam champions to win the women’s single gold medal, making her the first athlete representing Puerto Rico to win a gold medal in any sport.

Best Known For:
Monica is best known for winning the first Olympic gold medal for Puerto Rico.

Personal Life:
Monica’s father is Cuban-american, while her mother is Puerto Rican. She has a brother named Ricardo Puig. She is fluent in Spanish and English.