On Saturday at a press conference in Madrid, Spain’s Garbiñe Muguruza announced her retirement from professional tennis at the age of 30, having locked in her status as one of the game’s greats.
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, on October 8, 1993, Muguruza first appeared on the ITF Circuit in Spain in 2008.
The powerful righthander came to notice at Miami in 2012 where, making her WTA main-draw debut, she defeated seeds Vera Zvonareva and Flavia Pennetta en route to the Round of 16, before eventual champion Agnieszka Radwanska ended her charge.
Although her 2013 campaign was truncated by ankle surgery after Wimbledon, Muguruza bounced back in January 2014 to capture her first WTA singles title at the Hobart International.
Other progress that season included a first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Roland Garros, a run that included an upset of Serena Williams in the second round — the first of four career wins she would earn over a reigning World No.1..
Even better things were to come, including a first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros in 2016, where she turned the tables on Serena in the final. That win made Muguruza the first Spanish woman to lift a Grand Slam trophy since Arantxa Sánchez Vicario triumphed in Paris in 1998.
The following summer, she defeated Venus Williams in the final of the 2017 Wimbledon Championships to become the first Spaniard to win on the grass courts of SW19 since Conchita Martínez in 1994. Fittingly, it was Martínez who coached her to the title, and two months later, on September 11, Muguruza ascended to WTA World No.1, a position she held for four weeks.
Including her victories at the majors — which gave Muguruza the distinction of being the only player to defeat both Serena and Venus in a Grand Slam final — the Spaniard went 10-7 in singles finals during her career, notching important wins on each of the major surfaces.
Other notable results included lifting the trophy three times at the WTA 1000 level — the China Open in 2015, the Cincinnati Open in 2017 and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in 2021. Although Muguruza’s run of winning a title six years in a row came to an end in 2020, she advanced to a fourth Grand Slam final at that year’s Australian Open, falling to Sofia Kenin.
She punctuated her career with one last title at the 2021 WTA Finals in Guadalajara, Mexico, defeating Anett Kontaveit for the Billie Jean King Trophy on what was her fourth appearance at the season finale.
Looking back on her career, Muguruza said: “If, 25 years ago when I started hitting my first tennis balls, someone had told me that I would become a professional tennis player, that I would fulfil my dream of winning Roland Garros and Wimbledon, that I would become No.1 in the world and win the WTA Finals … I would have thought this person was crazy.”
She added: “Tennis has given me a lot in this first part of my life. It has been a fantastic journey in which I have experienced unique situations. I have traveled all over the world and experienced many different cultures. I am tremendously grateful to all the people who have helped and accompanied me throughout this chapter, because without them I would not have been able to get here.”
WTA legend and former World No.2 Martínez remarked: “It has been an honor to work with Garbiñe, and a privilege to see her grow as an athlete who inspires so many people in our country and around the world. I feel very sentimental about our times together at Billie Jean King Cup, her rise to No.1 and her achievements at Wimbledon and the WTA Finals in Guadalajara. We’ve built a special bond, and I hope her future brings only good things.”
WTA Singles Player of the Year and ITF World Champion in 2017, as well as a two-time Olympian, Muguruza also enjoyed considerable success in doubles. In the team discipline she achieved a career-high ranking of No.10 in 2015 and won five titles — three of them with fellow Spaniard Carla Suárez Navarro, with whom she reached the title bout at the WTA Finals in Singapore in 2015.
“Throughout her wonderful playing career, Garbiñe has competed with fierce determination, exemplary sportsmanship, and thrilled tennis fans with her exciting brand of play,” said Steve Simon, Chairman and CEO of the WTA. “A role model for young people in Spain, Latin America and around the world, she is a true champion of the sport. On behalf of the WTA family, I wish her every happiness and success as she begins the next chapter of her life.”
Muguruza played her last competitive match at Lyon, France on January 31, 2023, her campaign ending at the hands of Czech player Linda Noskova in the first round. Muguruza leaves the sport with a singles record of 449-238 (.654) and career prize money of $24,813,379 – 13th on the all-time list.
Her retirement from the Hologic WTA Tour coincides with news that Muguruza has been named an ambassador of the Laureus World Sports Academy. Since 2017 she has been an ambassador with Room To Read, a global non-profit that focuses on literacy and girls’ education in historically low-income communities.
