By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Saturday, April 20, 2024
"I've achieved a lot of dreams that I had as a child. I've made my story, it's been fantastic," Garbiñe Muguruza said announcing her retirement today.
Photo credit: Angel Martinez Getty for Laureus
Parting is poignant for Garbiñe Muguruza.
A champion for all surfaces, Muguruza closed the curtain on her brilliant career today.
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Former world No. 1 Muguruza announced her retirement from the pro tour at age 30.
An aggressive baseliner, whose flat strikes down the line made her a bold and explosive shot-maker and risk-taker, Muguruza captured 10 career championships, including the 2016 Roland Garros on red clay and the 2017 Wimbledon on grass.
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“The time has come to say goodbye. That's as far as I've come," Muguruza said at a Laureus press conference, announcing she will become a Laureus Ambassador. "My history in this sport has been great. I've achieved a lot of dreams that I had as a child. I've made my story, it's been fantastic.
“[I feel] that the time has come for me to retire, to open this chapter of my life, a new era of my life,” Muguruza said. “The word retired sounds very strong because I'm still only 30 years old, but it's been 25 years since I started playing tennis in which I've achieved so much.
"I feel proud to have achieved it, to have resisted when you set a goal by resisting the difficult moments and also the good ones are undoubtedly what I am most proud of.”
Spanish superstars and Muguruza friends, including Paula Badosa, Carlos Alcaraz and her former coach, Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez, paid tribute to Muguruza on social media.
A champion popular with her peers and fans, Muguruza made history as the first woman to defeat the Williams sisters in Grand Slam finals.
Commanding the center of the court, Muguruza denied set points in the 10th game then charged through nine straight games blasting past Venus Williams 7-5, 6-0, to capture her first Wimbledon championship.
Muguruza grew up looking up to the Williams sisters and stared down the challenge of the sisters who had combined to win 12 of the prior 17 Wimbledon titles.
"Venus is an incredible player," Muguruza said after winning Wimbledon. "And I knewI was going to have my opportunities sooner or later and it was gonna be a rough match.
"I stayed composed. I mean its such a bomb of emotions. You dream of this. Once you make it a few people can do it and feel such a big accomplishment for me. So I was just crying with emotion."
An explosive match came to an anti-climactic end as Muguruza challenged Williams’ final shot then stood behind the baseline waiting to see the replay. When Hawk-Eye confirmed the ball missed the mark, Muguruza dropped to her knees sobbing tears of triumphant joy.
Though that was her last Grand Slam title, Muguruza made a strong run to the 2020 Australian Open final—her third major final on three different surfaces—where she lost to Sofia Kenin.
The experience of knocking off three Top 10 players—Elina Svitolina, Kiki Bertens and Simona Halep—to reach the 2020 AO final where fell to Kenin in three sets helped Muguruza to play with some freedom again. She swept Kenin 6-2, 6-2 in their 2021 Melbourne rematch finding a measure of revenge for her 2020 final loss.
That 2020 Australian Open final was Muguruza’s least meaningful major surge.
Battling injury and confidence issues, she made opening-round exits in three of her final four major appearances with a 2023 Australian Open loss to Elise Mertens her final major match.
Speaking candidly about the pressure of performing as a former world No. 1 Grand Slam champion, Muguruza said she wanted to win so badly she found herself choking the grip of her Babolat racquet preventing her from letting "the racquet talk."
"I wanted it too much. I was getting frustrated too early," Muguruza said. "At the end I couldn't let the racquet talk. I feel like now, after that experience, I managed to stay a little bit calmer and to just go and compete, probably have less expectations. I'm always, like, there and always so pumped. I'm just knowing myself a little bit better now, finding ways to compete and not let that energy and that desire, too much desire, get in the way probably."
In November of 2021 was the 50th anniversary of the WTA Finals, marking a milestone as the first time a South American city hosted the tournament. This was the first time a Spanish-speaking nation hosted the WTA Finals since Madrid's two-year run as host ended in 2007.
Muguruza rose to the occasion defeating compatriot Paula Badosa and Anett Kontaveit in succession to collect the 2021 WTA Finals championship. It was Muguruza’s final title.
A self-described "active child", Muguruza began playing tennis at the age of three in Venezuela, which is her mother’s homeland. Muguruza told the WTA her first tennis memory was playing tennis against her older brothers.
The daughter of a Spanish father, Muguruza began training in Barcelona where she quickly developed her game. In fact, Muguruza competed in very few junior events before transitioning into the pro tour.
Muguruza concludes her career with a 10-7 finals record, a 449-238 career match record and nearly $25 million in career earnings.
Closing the professional chapter of her life, Muguruza has opened up on a personal one.
True love bloomed in Central Park for Muguruza—as she announced her engagement last spring.
Former world No. 1 Muguruza announced she is engaged to her long-time partner Arthur Borges.
In an interview with Hola Magazine announcing her engagement, Muguruza shared how a chance meeting with Borges in New York City's Central Park sparked their love story.
Muguruza, who was staying near Central Park in August of 2021 for the US Open, was walking in the park when Borges wished her good luck in Flushing Meadows. From that simple gesture, their romance flowered.
"It was a crush. I left the hotel for a walk, I came across him, he turned and wished me good luck," Muguruza told Hola Magazine. "From there, we connected and every day we went for walks in Central Park. Very romantic, really."
These days, the couple, who have been together about two years, enjoy runs together.
In a romantic proposal in Marbella, Spain, Borges asked Muguruza to marry him in a gesture that moved her to tears.
"He asked me for it at the Marbella Club hotel, which is one of my favorites," Muguruza said. "He made me a little table under a tree and I said, "What is this?"
"It kind of seemed weird, but I thought about anything else and, when he proposed it, I started crying, I didn't know how to react. I said yes through tears of emotion and it was all very romantic."