This week in Wuhan, Garbiñe Muguruza fell in her opening match to Jelena Jankovic, a year after Muguruza was Wuhan runner-up to Venus Williams.

The defeat was her seventh loss in 15 matches since she broke through defeating Serena Williams to win her maiden major at the French Open in June.

Watch: Previewing The Wuhan Final

Fans on social media and tennis forums have unkindly started to refer to Muguruza as "the new Ana Ivanovic", suggesting the powerful Spaniard may well follow in the footsteps of the former world No. 1, who has endured some nightmarish Grand Slam results following her 2008 Roland Garros championship.

However, an analysis of debut Grand Slam winners since Ivanovic shows that it is too hasty to refer to the Spaniard as anything like a one-hit wonder.

Here are some noteworthy facts to consider.
 

Experience

Of recent Grand Slam winners Muguruza is the ninth-youngest Grand Slam winner, so comparatively should not be considered a young player.

However, her record of lifting a Grand Slam title after only 17 events shows her relative inexperience especially when compared to fellow 22-year-old first time winners Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka—both of whom went on to compete and win more Grand Slam titles.

Performance in the 12 months following First Grand Slam victory

*denotes that a full 12month period has not been completed.

It is easy to understand why there is concern over Muguruza’s form. She has a win rate of 53.33% since winning Roland Garros losing to opponents that have an average ranking of 50.28—the worst record of any Grand Slam champion on the list.

Understandably, the pressure of a first Grand Slam victory leads to a drop in performance by almost every player in their very next Slam appearance with four players losing in the first round. Therefore Muguruza’s second round Wimbledon exit shouldn’t be described as a great surprise, particularly given the fact she faced the pressure of defending her 2015 Wimbledon final points.

When will Muguruza’s form improve?

Despite poor performances in two Grand Slams since she ruled Roland Garros, it is too early to define Muguruza as the new Ivanovic, as has been popular on social media.

The Serbian French Open champion has played 34 Grand Slam tournaments since her 2008 victory and it seems highly unlikely she will ever contend for another major title.

Many debut champions follow up their success quickly by winning another event. Muguruza’s form has been so poor that she hasn’t even come close. It is not possible to say when exactly she will arrest her slump, but the average for the players considered is 12.16 tournaments, and she may even win again this year.

Long term Garbine’s chances of contending for another Slam title are good as even Ivanovic has appeared in the latter stages of a Grand Slam. Excluding the phenomenal record of Serena Williams, the average Grand Slam champion features in a further three major finals and 2.3 semifinals.

Too soon to worry

I am certain that Muguruza will win more Grand Slam titles.

As I established in a previous article, there is a three-year period when players tend to reappear in Grand Slam finals. The 22-year-old Spaniard has limited major tournament experience and in this context it is unsurprising that she has not been competitive since. It is however remarkable just how poor her form has been.

While I understand the concern, the perspective of recent history—and her powerful game—indicate it is far too soon to worry about Muguruza's major future.

Tennis Now contributing writer Gavin Nightmair is a Scottish journalist based in Antwerp. To read more of Gavin's writing, please visit his blog here.