Rafael Nadal celebrates after winning the gold medal in the men’s doubles competition with Larc Lopez (image via zimbio.com).
Proceedings at the Olympic Tennis Centre in Rio de Janeiro has been an emotional roller coaster for many players. The tournament has seen the mighty fallen, and the underdogs rise. It has certainly been a memorable event, but there is still one question remaining. How much of an impact will events in Rio have on the tennis circuit?
The superiority of the top seeds is no more
There were hints earlier this season that the two best players in the world were showing signs of weakening and the Rio Olympics was the venue where we saw them both crash out. First, it was an emotional Novak Djokovic, who went out in the first round to Juan Martin del Potro. Then defending champion Serena Williams was knocked out by Elina Svitolina after producing an error-stricken performance.
It could be argued that it was just a coincidence that both suffered disappointment at the same tournament, however, this momentum shift has been coming for a while. In the women’s game, Angelique Kerber and Garbine Muguruza have already demonstrated that they have the power and variety to defeat Williams this year. Meanwhile, Andy Murray is currently the man to beat on the ATP Tour after winning three consecutive events (Queen’s, Wimbledon and the Olympics).
Rio provided players with a platform to display their best tennis and the lower ranked players succeeded. Times are changing and it appears that tennis will see a new world No.1 sooner rather than later. In the women’s tour, this could be as soon as next week.
