Here's what players had to say about their Paris Olympics "experience of a lifetime"

CINCINNATI, USA—With all the medal tables finalized and the Closing Ceremony and handoff complete, the 2024 Summer Olympic Games are officially in the books.

For many tennis players, the "experience of a lifetime" came with unforgettable memories—from earning a historic medal for their country and sharing a boat on the Seine with Lebron James, to racking up the world's greatest pin collection—marked with the proverbial thrill of victory and agony of defeat.

The Olympic spirit continues in Paris with the Paralympic Games taking place in under a month, and in Los Angeles with the 2028 Summer Games right around the corner. But on the ATP and WTA Tours, it's officially back to the weekly grind at the second 1000-level event of the North American hard-court swing.

Read More: Paolini, Errani, Auger-Aliassime, Ram, Kostyuk and more: Olympic heroes, sung and unsung

The Cincinnati Open is the first tournament back for many of the tennis' newly minted medalists and Olympians—like Poland's Iga Swiatek, Spain's Carlos Alcaraz and China's Zheng Qinwen—as players hit the mental reset button and hone their focus ahead of the US Open.

But before putting Paris in the rearview mirror, players had a lot to say about their experiences at the 2024 Summer Olympics:

Tommy Paul — 🇺🇸 USA 🥉

"I did the Olympics in Tokyo also, but it was a very different Olympics," said Tommy Paul in Cincinnati. "We didn’t stay in the Village in Tokyo, and it was also a very short trip for me… This time it was much better."

Due to the distance between Roland Garros and the rest of the Olympic venues, the American mostly found himself hanging out and bonding with fellow athletes in the Team USA building. "I was watching all the other sports with all the other athletes. And the training room was also obviously all the other athletes," he recalled. "So just building relationships with new people, watching other sports... It was a lot of fun."

Read More: Coco Gauff scores Snoop Dogg's Olympic pin, Serena Williams & Andy Murray show off rare finds

After falling in the quarterfinals to Carlos Alcaraz in singles, Paul capped off the week with a bronze medal in men's doubles with Taylor Fritz. Meanwhile, his teammates stayed busy acquiring their own kind of silverware in Paris.

"We kind of went everywhere as a big group, and Coco (Gauff) was leading the front on the trading of pins," Paul added. "She traded the most pins I’ve ever seen."

Iga Swiatek — 🇵🇱 POL 🥉

The 23-year-old arrived to her second Olympic Games as the heavy favorite, having lifted her fourth trophy at Roland Garros over the summer. But Swiatek, a second-generation Olympian whose father competed at the 1988 Games in Seoul, fell short of the final against an inspired Zheng Qinwen. She redeemed herself in the bronze medal match, defeating Anna Karolina Schmiedlova to claim a historic first medal in tennis for Poland.

Read More: Iga Swiatek pens emotional Olympic debrief, promises personal growth

"The experience meant a lot, obviously. It was pretty stressful and it wasn’t easy, but I’m happy that I could leave Paris with a medal and a lot of knowledge about myself," Swiatek said. Later, she added, she took some time to enjoy watching other sports and supporting fellow Polish athletes.

"The most important thing was for me to learn from this experience. I was proud of myself, and I’m happy that I could deal with all this pressure and still get a medal. It wasn’t like a normal tournament for sure."

It wasn’t like a normal tournament for sure. Iga Swiatek on the Paris Olympics experience

Carlos Alcaraz — 🇪🇸 ESP 🥈

The 21-year-old made it clear that he won't add the Olympic rings to his growing tattoo collection just yet, after finishing runner-up in Paris to Novak Djokovic. But for Alcaraz, the memories of the experience will live on forever—especially after his "dream came true" of playing doubles with childhood hero Rafael Nadal.

"It was great, something I will never forget for sure. I learned a lot talking to him on court and off the court as well," Alcaraz shared. "About myself, well it was kind of like I reached my dream. My dream came true, playing in the doubles alongside Rafa."

Read More: Novak Djokovic shouts out Carlos Alcaraz after their own 'El Clásico' at Paris Olympics

The pair reached the quarterfinals in men's doubles, falling just short of the medal rounds. The biggest highlight of all, he said, was getting a front-row "masterclass" from the 22-time Grand Slam winner on how to deal with tough moments on court.

"When we were down, he was there in a positive way and talking to me … Some things that you probably don’t see or that are difficult to see (during the match) that he sees very, very clear," he revealed. "And off the court, how to prepare for a difficult situation or matches. That’s been a masterclass."

My dream came true, playing in the doubles alongside Rafa. Carlos Alcaraz on his Olympics highlight

Zheng Qinwen — 🇨🇳 CHN 🥇

A Grand Slam finalist at this year’s Australian Open, Zheng Qinwen said the pressure of competing in the final of the Olympic Games was “so different” to anything she’d ever experienced before. The 21-year-old overcame toppled world No. 1 Swiatek in the semifinals and took down Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3 to clinch China's first gold medal in singles.

“Honestly, when I and when I played against (Angelique) Kerber, those two matches, I was really, really nervous,” Zheng recalled. “I never felt nerves like that. I took a bathroom break, and I realized my hands were shaking, without control.”

Read More: How Zheng Qinwen fought to win historic gold at 2024 Paris Olympics

Zheng says she handed over her gold medal to her manager for safekeeping at her parents’ home in Wuhan, and went straight from Paris to Cincinnati. She’s planning to celebrate with her family after the US Open during her Chinese swing homecoming.

“It’s a pity that I couldn’t enjoy it with my family. I wish I could go back to China, but with the calendar I wouldn’t be able to perform well in Cincinnati,” she said. “I had a great environment with my team, the only thing missing was celebrating with my family. They were crying after I won the Olympic Games.”

Coco Gauff — 🇺🇸 USA

Having fallen short of a medal in women's singles, doubles and mixed doubles, the 20-year-old had a Summer Games to forget on the terre battue of Paris. But Gauff still lived her Olympic experience to the fullest, after getting the honor of joining Lebron James as Team USA's flagbearer during the Opening Ceremony.

Read More: Coco Gauff scores Snoop Dogg's Olympic pin; Serena Williams, Andy Murray show off rare finds

"It was really cool. I wasn’t expecting to receive that (honor) at all, so doing it alongside Lebron was very cool. Just playing the Olympics in general, representing my country, was a great experience," Gauff told press in Cincinnati.

"Obviously, it didn’t go how I wanted, but it was an experience of a lifetime. The people I got to meet, the lessons I got to learn through that, I’ll probably take for the rest of my life—and, hopefully, into L.A."

Jessica Pegula — 🇺🇸 USA

"Paris was an amazing week. So much crammed into one week, but it was a lot of fun," said Pegula. "I wanted to use that experience as a positive going into the following week."

Pegula did just that, channeling the highs and lows of a whirlwind week in Paris into a successful title defense at the National Bank Open in Toronto. Along the way, she says she gained a whole new "respect" for her fellow Olympians—especially in disciplines like track and field, gynmastics and swimming.

"Being able to be surrounded by all the incredible athletes, I think you just have so much respect for what they do," she said. "Even though we have a really long year, I cannot imagine having to prep for once every four years. And then not being able to perform, or you get hurt, or something goes wrong... I think that's so, so tough.

"To see it from a different point of view, I think was really impressive."

Marta Kostyuk — 🇺🇦 UKR

Having been one of Ukraine’s top players for years, Kostyuk has proudly flown the blue and yellow flag on the WTA Tour—a responsibility that took on a whole new meaning after 2022 amid Russia’s war in her country.

Kostyuk says she saw the Olympic spirit at work for herself, as she and her peers in tennis—a famously individualistic sport—got caught up in the whirlwind of competing for a bigger cause in Paris.

“The atmosphere in the locker room is definitely very different,” she revealed. “Everyone is kind of not playing for themselves, not playing for the money, it’s not for the points. It’s really about you just playing for your country.

“Even when you’re on the court, when you win nobody is looking at who won, but which country won… It’s a very, very unique experience and I really hope I can play again in L.A.”

When you win nobody is looking at who won, but which country won… It’s a very, very unique experience. Marta Kostyuk

Jasmine Paolini — 🇮🇹 ITA 🥇

A runner-up at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon in singles this summer, Jasmine Paolini finally got her winning moment in Paris as she claimed a surprise gold medal in women's doubles with Sara Errani. And the Italian, who easily admitted that she doesn't enjoy the format at all, was perhaps the most surprised of all.

"My coach was (telling me) you have to play doubles because it improves your volleys, serve, return… I was like, Okay, maybe one day," Paolini told press, laughing. "But when Sara asked me, it was really exciting. She was No.1 in the world, she won so many tournaments."

The pair made history by clinching Italy's first gold medal in tennis. And Errani made a bit of personal history of her own, as she became the seventh woman to complete the career Golden Slam—winning all four Grand Slams and an Olympic gold medal in doubles.

"I think she was the right person to play with, because I was feeling like I had no experience and no idea how to play doubles, and she helped me a lot," Paolini added. "Now we have a gold medal, and that’s something crazy."