On April 20th, former two-time Grand Slam champion Muguruza announced she was retiring from pro tennis.
Garbine Muguruza says deciding to put an end to her pro tennis career wasn’t really a tough decision since she simply felt it was time to end that chapter and try out something new.
Muguruza – who was one of the best players on the WTA Tour for many years – announced two weeks ago that she was retiring from pro tennis after not playing since 2023 January.
In late 2021, Muguruza won her first WTA Finals title and her strong end to the season led to many tipping the former two-time Grand Slam champion to be a major candidate for the biggest title in 2022.
But Muguruza was struggling during the entire 2022 season – and after finishing 12-17 that year and also starting 2023 with four consecutive losses – the former world No. 1 decided to take an abrupt break from tennis.
After Muguruza didn’t return to tennis at the start of the 2024 season, that was a major indicator that the 30-year-old Spaniard was inching toward retirement.
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“Well, it was quite easy for me. I know for some athletes it takes a long time to decide, but for me, it was kind of natural. I just felt the need to move on in life, and the lack of excitement, I guess. With the years that changes – I want to look for other chapters in my life,” Muguruza said on Tennis Channel.
Muguruza: Winning Grand Slams was amazing but now it’s time for something different
During her career, Muguruza won 10 titles and two of those wins came at the Grand Slam level. After becoming a Grand Slam champion at the 2016 French Open, it didn’t take long before Muguruza also won her second Slam title – she defeated Venus Williams in the 2017 Wimbledon final.
Muguruza also had some other very notable accomplishments as she reached the world No. 1 spot for the first time in 2017, and as mentionved above, won the prestigious season-ending tournament in 2021.
Muguruza enjoyed a succesful tennis career and loved her tennis journey but she to do something different in life.
“Winning trophies, Grand Slams, are the most amazing, everything. Also the Masters [WTA Finals] in Mexico, that was huge, playing in front of the Latin crowd, the whole stadium was crazy – like poor [Anett] Kontaveit, it was so tough. Those three are the best ones, yeah.
“What I miss the most, I have to say, is having my team, having my group and that feeling of protection, and travelling with them. That I miss the most. It’s a tough sport, it’s very solitary and you travel every week – so I’m not missing that.
“I’m trying to figure it out. I definitely want to be involved with the media, with tennis, but also try different things. I’ve always been around tennis, so I’m open for opportunities.”
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Muguruza on meeting her current fiance Arthur Borges: Like a Hollywood movie
After dating for a few years, Muguruza got engaged with her partner Borges last year. But their relationship is one that made the headlines as Muguruza is now together with a tennis fan who once wished her good luck on the street.
A couple of years ago, Muguruza was in New York for the US Open and she had a boring day when she decided to go for a walk on Central Park. At one moment, Muguruza stumbled upon a tennis fan who wished her good luck at the US Open.
Muguruza, who instantly thought that the guy was handsome, stopped and they started chatting. The rest is history as now they have been together for a couple of years and set to be married.
“We always joke about it, it’s like a Hollywood movie, it’s a crazy story. We met in the street in New York, it was love at first sight,” Muguruza said.
“It was one of those boring days, I didn’t know what to do, so I go for a walk on Central Park as well, and I just bumped into him. I was just like: ‘Wait a minute, you’re very handsome, who are you?’
“And he’s a tennis fan, so he recognized me and said: ‘Hey, good luck.’ And that’s it, that was enough.”
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On Saturday, Muguruza was at Caja Magica for the Madrid Open final between world No. 1 Iga Swiatek and second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka. After Swiatek scraped past Sabalenka 7-5 4-6 7-6 (7) in a final that lasted three hours and 11 minutes, Muguruza was the one who handed out the trophy to Swiatek.
It was a nice moment as Muguruza was able to return to one of her favorites tournaments and be a part of a special night in Madrid.