Life can take dramatic twists and turns over the course of the career of a tennis player. When 22-year-old Garbine Muguruza won her first Grand Slam title it marked the birth of a new star in Spain. It was something that the Spanish tennis aficionados were waiting for for eighteen years, when Arantxa Sanchez Vicario won the French Open–the last female Spaniard to win a singles Grand Slam. In 2015, Muguruza also became the first Spanish woman to make a Wimbledon final since her mentor Conchita Martinez won the title in 1994.
Muguruza has always had high expectations, because of the country she decided to represent–a country that has an illustrious history in the sport of tennis. In 2015, Muguruza made the decision to choose to represent Spain instead of Venezuela, the country she was born in. Since that significant decision she has become one of the more prominent faces of Women’s tennis and that was emphasized with her Grand Slam victory earlier this year.
When Muguruza was asked here in Linz whether her life had changed dramatically since that triumph, she responded:
“I don’t think my life has changed a lot. Obviously you get more attention, more recognition that is the nice part to have, but I did not change a lot. I look back, I was very happy and it was a great achievement for me but I don’t really think about that a lot of times. It’s done.”
Muguruza also reflected upon her biggest moment of glory:
“This year, for sure, nothing can ruin it. I won a grand slam no matter what happens, so I’m going to be super proud. It is my best year so far, so that is a good thing to have in my closet.”
It really does make a tremendous difference to the psychological aspect of world tennis when a young player makes that big step and announces themselves to the world on the big stage. Muguruza mentions the fact that she now knows that she can compete with the elite tennis players out there, and proved that with a stunning performance against Serena Williams at the French Open for the second time. Only five people had beaten Williams in a Grand Slam singles final up to that point, so it took a monumental effort from Spain’s finest to grab her own Grand Slam triumph.
One of the local journalists asked Muguruza whether Kerber provided a great example of going through difficult moments after a Major win and then becoming the player she is today. The Spaniard provided interesting insight on that particular topic of conversation:
“I think there are very different types of players. I know there are players whose strength is to every single week be in the quarter-finals. But there are other players who can have an amazing week, but it’s harder to do that every week. I think I’m one of those players. It’s hard to be every single week in the semi-finals, especially with my style of game. I take a lot of risk. I’m very aggressive.”
The Spaniard, who has struggled a lot with consistency since Roland Garros, has a massive week ahead of her if she wants to qualify for Singapore. She will have to rediscover some of the consistency that has been missing to attain one of her yearly goals.
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