{"id":636102,"date":"2025-12-16T13:40:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T13:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/636102\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T13:40:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T13:40:17","slug":"garbine-muguruza-has-her-tennis-mojo-back-she-needed-to-leave-the-court-to-find-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/636102\/","title":{"rendered":"Garbi\u00f1e Muguruza has her tennis mojo back. She needed to leave the court to find it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Garbi\u00f1e Muguruza<\/a>\u2019s life was always going to get pretty busy in 2026. Her first child is due at the end of January. But Muguruza, who formally retired from tennis in 2024, and later that year became both a television commentator and the tournament director for the WTA Tour Finals<\/a>, does not appear inclined toward the easy life.<\/p>\n

Last week, the two-time Grand Slam champion who spent four weeks as world No. 1 was named the co-tournament director of the Madrid Open<\/a>. The clay-court tournament in the Spanish capital is one of six flagship mixed events at the 1,000 level, just below the Grand Slams.<\/p>\n

The assignment to oversee the tournament alongside her compatriot Feliciano L\u00f3pez carries a good bit of responsibility for a former women\u2019s world No. 1. For years, the Madrid Open had a well-earned reputation for treating women as second-class tennis players<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Its former owner, the Romanian billionaire and former player Ion \u021airiac, long argued to revoke paying equal prize money. WTA Tour players complained that they received worse court assignments and scheduling compared with their male counterparts.<\/p>\n

Sports conglomerate IMG purchased the tournament from \u021airiac in 2022, but ugly moments continued. That year, organizers scheduled the women\u2019s singles final between the men\u2019s semifinals; in 2023, they prohibited the women\u2019s doubles finalists from speaking during the trophy ceremony.<\/p>\n

The players, Victoria Azarenka, Beatriz Haddad-Maia, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff, all called the decision unacceptable. The disparity in the size of birthday cakes given to\u00a0Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka also came under fire.<\/p>\n

In the same week as the announcement of her new role, Muguruza told El Partizado de Cope in an interview that a male junior player would have beaten her when she was top of the women\u2019s rankings. \u201cIt\u2019s more of a show \u2014 it has nothing to do with the Battle of the Sexes,\u201d she said of current WTA world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka\u2019s upcoming match with Nick Kyrgios<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Gerard Tsobanian, the chief executive of the Madrid Open, said Muguruza\u2019s appointment was not a symbolic gesture.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe strongly believe that leadership in tennis should be built from diverse, complimentary perspectives with equal voice and influence,\u201d he said in a statement announcing Muguruza\u2019s appointment. \u201cWe don\u2019t just talk about equality, we design it, we implement it and we make it visible.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a message Monday, Muguruza did not offer qualms about the tournament\u2019s past.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Madrid Open has always been eager to be ahead, to make a step forward, to be a bit of a pioneer,\u201d she said. \u201cI think it\u2019s a great idea to share the workload and provide the best service to both ATP and WTA players.<\/p>\n

She said she recognizes it will be a significant step up from the WTA Tour Finals, with far more players to care for, but the role is especially close to her heart because it is the most significant women\u2019s tournament in Spain. She has warm memories of that rare feeling in tennis: the entire stadium being behind her.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was stressful but beautiful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The role marks the 32-year-old\u2019s latest move in her pivot from on-court to off-court figurehead. That pivot came far earlier than it has for a lot of players of her renown, as more and more play into and through their 30s, or return to the top level of the sport after having children.<\/p>\n

Muguruza didn\u2019t figure it would happen this soon. Just a couple of years ago, she was at the top of the sport, seemingly with many years of competition ahead of her.\u00a0Having beaten Serena Williams<\/a> to win the 2016 French Open, she beat Venus Williams to win Wimbledon a year later. Her quality dipped for two seasons, but she started 2020 strong, reaching the final of the Australian Open against Sofia Kenin.<\/p>\n

Then the Covid-19 pandemic arrived, and Muguruza, like everyone else, spent six months off the grind of the tennis tour. She took a bit to hit her stride again when tennis resumed, but 2021 brought another solid season. She made four finals, won two of them and then walked off with the WTA Tour Finals title in Guadalajara, Mexico.<\/p>\n

For Muguruza, who grew up mainly in Spain but was born in Venezuela, playing in Mexico in front of screaming crowds was pure joy. But almost instantly, everything changed. She had experienced drop-offs following her biggest triumphs before, but this one was a little different. \u201cAn empty feeling a little bit,\u201d she said during an interview in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, ahead of this year\u2019s Tour Finals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was massive for me to have that opportunity,\u201d she said. \u201cI felt before the tournament, \u2018This is mine, it has to be for me.\u2019 But after that event, I definitely felt a drop in energy and a tiny bit of motivation.\u201d<\/p>\n

She started to wonder if it was a blip or a red flag. She started to wonder if her mind was telling her to think about what would come after tennis. As losses and early-round exits piled up in 2022, the answer made itself clear. She started to long for what tennis felt like it was keeping from her, especially the budding relationship that would blossom from a chance meeting with a fan during a walk through midtown Manhattan into a marriage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat year I was mentally a little bit more exhausted, and not only that, but I started to look forward to being more at home and being more with my family and with my husband,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started to prioritize more my personal than professional life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Garbi\u00f1e<\/p>\n

\n Garbi\u00f1e Muguruza\u2019s last big title came at the 2021 WTA Tour Finals in Mexico. (Ulises Ruiz \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

She played four matches at the start of 2023. She lost all of them, and never played again, before formally announcing her retirement in 2024.<\/p>\n

In retrospect, she can see how the sport had changed and how that change had gone against her. There was more power, more speed and more movement than when she broke through, with the time to construct points growing shorter.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need to be ready for those quick rallies, for those big serves and two, three shots,\u201d she said. \u201cBefore, maybe points were a little longer. But again, it depends. Coco Gauff has a different style than Elena Rybakina.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who is the next star from Spain, one of the proudest tennis nations and among the most successful of the new century? She said she is keeping a close eye on J\u00e9ssica Bouzas Maneiro, the 23-year-old who Muguruza said might be on the verge of a breakout.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think something amazing is going to happen soon because she has the level. She\u2019s gotten deep into tournaments but not yet got a trophy. I feel like we can see something exciting next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

She has also become friendly with Alcaraz, the men\u2019s world No. 1 and the biggest Spanish tennis hero now. She sought him out when he first arrived on the tour. She said he hasn\u2019t changed at all.<\/p>\n

She will take a break from all that for a little while around the birth of her child. Before long though, it will be time to go back to work. The Madrid Open begins April 20 for the players, and for her a good deal sooner. Then comes the WTA Tour Finals in Riyadh<\/a> next November, its last edition there under the extant deal with the country. WTA Tour chief executive Portia Archer has said she wants to extend it<\/a>, despite heavy criticism for the country\u2019s human rights record, and for taking the flagship event in women\u2019s tennis to a relatively immature tennis nation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a player you don\u2019t really know what happens behind or outside the tennis court,\u201d Muguruza said. \u201cI\u2019m much more aware now. So many things, but it\u2019s great. I\u2019m really loving this new chapter and this whole new career now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Garbi\u00f1e Muguruza\u2019s life was always going to get pretty busy in 2026. Her first child is due at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":636103,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4105],"tags":[2766,79,25711,1068,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-636102","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-culture","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-sports-business","11":"tag-tennis","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115729533327683251","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=636102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/636103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=636102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=636102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=636102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}