The Olympic bronze of Cristina Bucsa y Sarah Smiles in the women’s doubles tennis Paris 2024 was born from a monumental coincidence.
The Valencian had planned to play the Mutua Madrid Open 2024 with her usual partner, Marie Bouzkovabut her partner’s physical problems left her participation in the air. In the gymnasium, Sorribes met Bucsa’s father, who was still looking for a partner.
“Still no one? Do you want to play?” Sorribes asked. That was the start of a race against time that ended 15 minutes before the closing date for registration.
Bucsa and Sorribes had never played together, just some distracted kickabouts while training with the national team, but they showed a surprising rapport, the same one that disarmed Karolina Muchova y Linda Noskova in the final for the Olympic bronze.
The Spanish pair beat the Czechs 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 at the Philippe Chatrier to win Olympic bronze, the 14th medal for Spanish tennis at the Olympic Games (pending Carlos Alcaraz’s final) and the fifth in women’s doubles.
The Bucsa-Sorribes duo joins Conchita Martinez y Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (silver in Barcelona 1992, bronze in Atlanta 1996); Conchita Martínez and Live Ruano (silver in Athens 2004), and Anabel Medina with Vivi Ruano (silver in Beijing 2008).
