Mónica Puig Stuns Angelique Kerber To Win Puerto Rico's First-Ever Gold Medal

Angelique Kerber came into the Olympics as one of this planet’s best in 2016; having won the Australian Open and reaching Wimbledon’s final, the WTA #2 was a heavy favorite in yesterday’s gold medal singles match against Puerto Rico’s Mónica Puig. But Puig, currently ranked 34th, shocked Kerber in becoming the first unseeded woman to win tennis gold since the sport returned to the Olympics in 1988.

More importantly, Puig won Puerto Rico’s first gold medal, ever, in 68 years of the island competing in the Games. She told NBC’s Trenni Kusnierek afterward that she “united a nation”:

Here’s San Juan’s biggest newspaper El Nuevo Día’s front page today:

Tennis at this year’s Olympics has been thrilling, surprising, and sadly segregated to the Bravo channel. (NBC did this four years ago, too.) The past two Summer Games have proven the sport deserves premier billing.