Puig dedicates tournament to Puerto Rico in emotional runner-up speech

Monica Puig spent the past week playing in Luxembourg, but her mind was on her native Puerto Rico, which continues to deal with the devastating fallout of Hurricane Maria.

Puig, who became the first-ever Puerto Rican to capture an Olympic gold medal at the Rio Games in 2016, sent a message to the people back home in her emotional runner-up speech after losing the Luxembourg final to Carina Witthoeft on Saturday.

"To everybody that's watching in Puerto Rico, this tournament's for you," Puig said. "I know we've had our ups and downs, but I hope that everything is going to get better, and I'm going to stand by your side and I'm going to be there to support every step of the way. And we're going to come back stronger from this."

Puig will travel to the island next week to aid recovery efforts.