An Olympic Gold Medal is worth the same as a major tournament win.
Seeing Novak Djokovic fulfilling a lifelong dream and becoming the Olympic Champion recently solidified that for me.
He desperately tried for sixteen years to win it, but after failing in four previous Olympics, he finally got the job done at Paris 2024.
Some fans have been questioning the worth of Olympic tennis in recent times though. Many believe it means as much as a grand slam to players, whereas some don’t think it ranks that highly.
I have it equal to a grand slam title - because the pressure players are under - I argue - supersedes that of a grand slam tournament. Olympic tennis is obviously only played once every four years, so the nerves players feel, and the desire they have to win is heavily increased.
24-time major champ Djokovic’s story is a terrific example of this. In the four Olympics he played in before Paris, he failed to make it through to the gold medal match, with some special performances stopping him along the way.
They included Rafael Nadal in Beijing and Juan Martin Del Potro in Rio with the latter result affecting so much, that he was left in tears as he walked off court.
Now though - after almost two decades, and an epic match against Carlos Alcaraz, he finally claimed the gold, and ironically, it was his opponent that was left crying this time.
The Spaniard was absolutely distraught after the match, thinking he let his country down.
Women’s World Number One Iga Swiatek was also left heartbroken. She felt the pressure of carrying her nation’s hopes of an Olympic Medal and lost in the semi-finals.
The Pole herself was also left in tears after the match - just like Djokovic in 2016 - and Alcaraz also in Paris.
Djokovic however, was on cloud nine after his win, with him even claiming that it's ‘the biggest achievement of his career’.
It’s a comment that echoes a similar sentiment of the great Rafael Nadal.
In the lead-up to the 2012 London games, the 14-time Roland Garros Champ claimed, “The Olympics are very special for many reasons, and in my opinion the biggest one because you are representing your country."
Despite the controversial draw processes along with the demanding schedule of playing many matches in little time, there is no doubting the prestige that Olympic Tennis holds.
I think it’s quite clear: playing at the games means a lot to tennis players, and winning gold is definitely something very high on their priority list.
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