If emotion is the metric to evaluate whether Olympic tennis means as much as the four majors, then there was plenty of evidence in Paris to show there’s a case. On Sunday, a tearful Novak Djokovic called his gold medal win over Carlos Alcaraz the “biggest success of his career.” He has 24 slams. Meanwhile, the Spaniard cried in an interview with Alex Corretja such was his utter devastation.

There’s a view that Iga Swiatek doesn’t do emotion. The Pole is the automaton who wins lots of tennis tournaments. When she lost to eventual gold medallist Zheng Qinwen in the Olympic semi-final, it was all too much for the No. 1 seed on a streak of 25 consecutive wins in her own backyard at Roland Garros.

The tears flowed in a post-match interview with Polish TV. Swiatek couldn’t comprehend what had just happened. She couldn’t speak. This was the stark reality of how brutal professional tennis can be. The sport only returned to the Games of the Olympiad in 1988 after a six-decade absence, but it has generated some of the most compelling stories and emotions on court ever since.

Steffi Graf may have some sympathy for what Swiatek had gone through when destiny was calling. The 22-time singles Slam winner was beaten by the precocious 16-year-old Jennifer Capriati in the final of the women’s singles at the 1992 Barcelona games. “It was so emotional, I got the chills out there. This is unbelievable. I mean, I can’t believe it. The last two weeks, I saw all the other athletes up there on the victory stand and I thought, ‘Wow, that would be so cool ,” said the teenage champion. She summed up the zeitgeist of tennis at the Olympics right there.

Andy Murray has won three Grand Slams, none more cherished than his two Wimbledon titles, but perhaps they, and the very first baby, the U.S. Open in 2012, were only possible because of what happened at the London Olympics just a month before his Flushing Meadows breakthrough. His straight sets battering of Roger Federer on Centre Court in front of a partizan, strictly non-traditional SW19 crowd sprinkled the magic dust on what was to follow.

Four years later, there was an incredible coming together of two of the sport’s ultimate warriors, Murray and Juan Martin Del Potro, in the Rio Olympic final. The match wasn’t the most epic in terms of quality with a whole host of service breaks. What was special was how much both wanted it. “I’m living a dream once again,” Del Potro said after Murray overcame him in four sets. The Argentinian had shown immense courage to return from numerous wrist surgeries to make the most emotional return.

It wasn’t about just the individual. It was the spectacle and the fact that it mattered. Feel the quality of the champions. Djokovic, Nadal, Murray (twice) and Alexander Zverev have won the men’s singles in the last five editions.

Zverev had just passed up an opportunity to win his first slam in New York in 2020 having been two sets up against Dominic Thiem. The gold in Tokyo was more than just an emollient. “I think, because you’re not just playing for yourself, you’re playing for everybody involved, everybody in Germany supporting me back at home, supporting all the athletes here. So, for me, the feelings that I have, and the feelings that I probably will have in these next few days, can’t compare to anything else,” said the German.

When Martina Navratilova and others criticized players who didn’t wish to play Wimbledon 2022 because of the lack of ranking points, she hit on a theme. It was not “an exhibition”, it was a real live chance to win a global event. Trophies matter even without the points and dollars.

Monica Puig had no expectations when she became one of the most leftfield winners in 2016, defeating Angelique Kerber. “When people ask if you could have a Grand Slam or an Olympic medal, I would always choose the Olympic medal. What it meant for my country and what it means to me. There’s four Grand Slams a year, and there’s one Olympics every four years. You have something that’s very rare,” the Puerto Rican told the WTA website.

Some might balk at Djokovic’s desire to win the gold after previous comments that he had completed the whole set of prizes. The truth is that the Olympic Spirit is alive and well. Tennis rocks at the Summer Games.