Whilst the Olympics rumbles on, the tennis in Paris is done for the year, with Novak Djokovic taking the singles gold medal in triumphant fashion.
It was an accolade he had been craving for so long, and despite his blatant desperation, he channelled his desire into tangible success, beating Carlos Alcaraz in the final.
Rafael Nadal now recognises Djokovic as the GOAT, following his triumph.
However, he was not the only tennis player to win gold at this Olympics, with the men’s, women’s and mixed doubles also meriting the same accolade.
In fact, one of the greatest stories from the tennis world at these games came in the latter, as Tomas Machac and Katrina Siniakova shocked everyone to triumph in the mixed.
Tomas Machac and Katrina Siniakova win Olympic gold
This Czech pairing have a long history together that transcends the sport they both play, having actually started a relationship back in 2020.
However, juggling personal lives with such relentlessly busy professional schedules is a tough task, and just a week before they were due to play together at the Olympics, they called it quits.
Having already committed to playing together in the mixed, they did not let this affect their performance, going on a mesmeric run to eventually beat China in the final.
Machac and Siniakova then shared a kiss to celebrate, before speaking about their relationship in a post-match interview.
The latter first noted: ‘That’s our personal lives you don’t need to know that,’ prompting Machac to chime in: ‘So this is top secret. Top secret.’
Siniakova laughed, claiming: ‘We like it when you are confused!’
‘Exactly. That’s how we feel powerful,’ Machac finally stated, a smile plastered across both of their faces.
What other tennis players are in a relationship?
Whilst Machac and Siniakova are remaining coy about their relationship, there are plenty of others within the tennis world who are public in their relationships.
Arguably, there are few more high-profile than Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa.
Having recently broken up, but swiftly rekindled after a brief time apart, they are the tennis power couple, but have recently been challenged by Alex de Minaur and Katie Boulter.
Jannik Sinner’s relationship with Anna Kalinskaya is the latest big-name pairing from within the tennis sphere, whilst more seasoned veterans Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina are actually married.
A few lesser-known but strong relationships are the Canadian and Swedish partnership of Denis Shapovalov and Mirjam Bjorklund, as well as Liam Broady and Eden Silva.
It seems like perhaps the 2024 film Challengers is far more true to reality than many first gave it credit for…
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