Own the Podium: Lindsay Davenport

'I feel like I'm part of a different club than just a tennis club. Not only am I a US Olympian, but I'm also a gold medallist'

Lindsay Davenport was just 20 years old when she won the women's singles gold medal at her home Olympic Games: Atlanta 1996. Victory propelled the future world No. 1 into a new stratosphere, and the Olympics remained a special moment each four years until her final appearance at Beijing 2008.

I remember, this is funny, but this gives an insight to my mind, being on the podium trying to tell myself not to cry. I remember just keeping repeating that to myself because it is overwhelming when you get up there, and you think it’s all fun and you think it’s all happy, and then depending on your personality, it can be more emotional. It started to get a little emotional for me. But most of it was shock.

It’s hard when it’s your first big award or first big accomplishment. I was just, I think in all the pictures I’ve seen, I’m like, “Oh, my gosh, is this real?” I couldn’t get over that feeling.

In the semis, I had to play Mary Joe [Fernandez], who was my best friend. It was a tough match because it was tough to show too much emotion, obviously then all the coaches are neutral. We were staying together.

It was so different because I felt like, and I feel like, I’m part of a different club than just a tennis club. You know, not only am I a US Olympian, but I’m also a gold medallist. That always has a great ring. I loved it so much when I was playing and I’d be introduced as that. That always had a special feeling because I think everybody that loves sports loves the Olympics. It was so unbelievable to me that I even made the team, let alone to get a medal; and to get the gold, was just the best.

I think for people outside of tennis, it brings you into a different kind of fan base or different reactions. People get this, “Wow, even you were in the Olympics,” that don’t really know tennis.

My kids love saying that. In our kids’ school in first grade, they do a whole thing on the Olympics. Every year for the first grade Olympics, I go in with my gold medal. They don’t really get it, but my kids think it’s cool.

It definitely changed my life because then every time I was going into a tournament or a major, it was, “Well, why not? I can do this.” But it still took me a little bit of time to totally convince myself of it. It was a great first step. I definitely wasn’t playing under the radar any more.

It definitely opened doors, and probably so many doors were open that maybe I wasn’t even aware of it, at 20, 21, 22. I still feel like it puts me part of an exclusive club now. All these years later I can probably see things a little more clearly.

For the Beijing opening ceremonies, the US Olympic Committee had come up to me to say if I wanted to leave after marching on the third corner of the stadium, go into the tunnel. So the Bryan brothers and I decided we’re going to march, and James Blake. We turned around the third corner, we didn’t really see anyone there. We were like, “What do we do? Do we go, not go? We ended up right on the field. Right then the Bryan brothers started panicking, they knew it would be another six hours. As soon as the Chinese team went by, we ran across the track and ran out of the stadium.

We were now in the middle of Beijing. No money, nothing. They don’t let you take anything. What are we going to do? We ended up walking the mile outside the closed zone. We got into a cab. We had no money. One of us ran to the room. We made it back into our beds to see the torch being lit.

The opening ceremonies in all the Olympics I’ve played are some of the three biggest highlights of my whole life. Obviously besides kids and all that. But I never forget those moments.