Often talked about as one of the brightest youngsters on the WTA tour, Garbine Muguruza will be a name many will be looking for at Wimbledon. But despite her enormous potential, grass is not her surface.
Now you may think with her basic style of play that Muguruza will be a success at Wimbledon. After all she hits big off both wings and has a big first serve. Unfortunately, tennis is just not all that simple.
The Spaniard’s problems on grass start with the movement. Growing up on clay courts, the 21 year old is not comfortable moving on the lawns. It is a different style of movement that only a select few can say they have mastered.
Of course Muguruza still has time to work out how to move on a grass court, after all she is only 21 year old. However right now, it is clear that she is not comfortable with her footing on the surface, and as a result it hinders her shot making.
That brings me to point number two, timing. Muguruza is a big hitter, but like a lot of players she takes a big back swing before striking the ball. The quickness of the grass courts mean she has to rush her shots and as a result the timing is off.
It leads to unforced errors, short balls, and frustration from the Spaniard. It is an issue some can relate to, for example Stan Wawrinka finds that he cannot time his backhand as well as he can on clay and hard courts.
Issue number three is the serve. Muguruza can serve big, but inconsistencies make it less of a weapon that it could be. The first serve is key on grass courts, and can get you out of tricky situations.
Muguruza serves on average at 56% which is not bad, but it needs to be better especially when you are not confident in your second serve. The Spaniard has hit 114 aces to 132 double faults this season, which to be honest is not good enough.
The poor second serve puts added pressure on the first serve, and with that pressure you see more faults which lead to more second serves.
It is evident by her results at Wimbledon, a tournament in which she has failed to make it past the second round. Albeit she has only had two attempts at it.
It would be unfair to just be critical of Muguruza on grass. She is not incompetent on the surface, and on a good day she can blast anyone off the court. With a high first serve percentage she can be very difficult to beat.
The key will be to get on the front foot and be as aggressive as possible. The world #20 is not a great mover on grass, as documented earlier. So she needs to take that factor away by getting her opponent moving, forcing short ball so she can dictate the play. That is where she is at her best.
At 21 years old she still has time to work out how to fit her game on to grass. A lot of it will be down to confidence; and when she gets more and more match practice on the surface she will develop a better game for it.
Grass is the hardest surface to prepare for as it is the shortest season on the calendar and practice courts are difficult to find given how hard they are to maintain.
I doubt we will see the best of Muguruza on the grass until later in her career but even then it is still hard to see her being a title threat at Wimbledon. Her game that fits so naturally to hard courts and clay is not so great on the grass.
With a few adjustments to her game plan and added confidence, Muguruza can become a decent grass courter, but right now it is hard to see her making a big impact at Wimbledon.
The 21 year old will have a successful career on clay and hard courts and will no doubt be competing for grand slams on those surfaces. That is where you need to keep an eye on Muguruza.
Depending on the draw, a third round finish at Wimbledon will be considered a good tournament for the Spaniard. Anything above that will be considered a rousing success on her weakest surface.
Then again she could hit spectacular form out of nowhere and make a deep run. The WTA is known for its unpredictability and believe me stranger things have happened.
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