Newsletter | Garbine Muguruza Retires

Former world no.1 Garbine Muguruza retires while Ruud and Rybakina win titles

By Stephen Higgins | 22nd April 2024

Garbine Muguruza at Wimbledon 2019
On my first outing to Wimbledon in 2019, I watched Garbine Muguruza and got some pics with the old camera | Crosscourt View

Over the weekend, Garbine Muguruza, one of the best players of the past decade, announced her retirement from professional tennis.

At a Madrid press conference on Saturday, the former world no.1 said “It’s time to say goodbye.”

“It’s been a long and successful career, but I feel the time has come to retire. Now I am ready to start a new chapter in my life, which will surely be related in one way or another to tennis and sports.’

The 30-year-old’s last event was Lyon in January 2023. In April of that year, the Spaniard took an extended break from the sport and has not appeared since.

‘I didn’t miss the discipline and the difficulty of the life I had before,’ the former world no.1 explained.

‘I have been realising that what I most want to look forward to is my next chapter and not the tennis chapter.”

Renowned for her aggressive play from the baseline, Muguruza was quite a force in her pomp but probably deserved more career titles than the 10 she finished with.

Born in Caracas to a Venezuelan mother and Spanish father, Muguruza did not have a junior career of note. With a focus primarily on ITF events, she really progressed from 2009 to 2012 when she rose from unranked to no.102. Aged just 18, Muguruza’s promise was on display at Miami in 2012 when she beat top 30 players Vera Zvonareva and Flavia Pennetta.

2014 saw the Spaniard really explode on the WTA scene as she claimed her first title (Hobart) and famously defeated Serena Williams en route to the Roland Garros quarter-finals.

The following season, Muguruza once again made the last eight in Paris before surging to a first grand slam final in Wimbledon (where she lost to Williams). From that point on, the right hander was a formidable, if inconsistent force.

The highs were lofty with two grand slam titles at Roland Garros (2016), where she beat Serena, and Wimbledon (2017), where she overcame Venus. In September of 2017, Muguruza also reached the summit of the WTA rankings, only the second Spanish woman to do so after Arantxa Sánchez Vicario.

That would be her peak period at the grand slams. Except for a run to the Australian Open final in 2020, Muguruza was not really a factor at majors from 2017 on though she still enjoyed excellent weeks on tour. There was a career renaissance in 2021 as she secured her first WTA Finals title along with trophies in Chicago and Dubai.

Muguruza was not just a threat on the singles court either, as she forged a successful partnership with stylish compatriot Carla Suarez Navarro. The pair won three titles as a team and reached the championship match of the WTA Finals in 2015.

Still, despite her undoubted talent and stature in the game, Muguruza suffered significant dips in form and periods of erratic play. Her career title haul (10) is far below peers like Petra Kvitova (31), Caroline Wozniacki (30), Simona Halep (24) and Karolina Pliskova (17).

That said, Muguruza had a superb career and has left a significant mark on the sport, both on and off-court.

STUTTGART | WTA 500

Elena Rybakina, one of the form players of the season, took the title here with a convincing 6-2 6-2 victory over Marta Kostyuk in the final. It’s the third title of 2024 for the Kazakh after her earlier wins in Brisbane and Abu Dhabi.

Rybakina earned the right to joust for the trophy after downing the defending champion, Iga Swiatek, in the last four. It’s the third career clay court title for the 24-year-old after Bucharest (2019) and Rome (2023). As a result, the Kazakh extends her lead over Jessie Pegula at no.4 in the WTA rankings.

BARCELONA | ATP 500

It was a big week for former Roland Garros finalist Casper Ruud, as he claimed the biggest title of his career to date. The Norwegian got the better of Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5 6-3 here a week after losing to the Greek in the Monte-Carlo final.

It’s the first ATP 500 win for Ruud who has 10 titles at the ATP 250 level. The 25-year-old has increased his lead at no.6 in the rankings, just beyond Tsitsipas.

MUNICH | ATP 250

There was a very popular upset in Germany over the weekend as home favourite and world no.28 Jan-Lennard Struff dislodged Felix Auger-Aliassime, Holger Rune and then Taylor Fritz in the final to claim his first ATP title. The 33-year-old took the championship match 7-5 6-3 and moves just three places beneath his career high ranking of 21st.

ROUEN | WTA 250

Last week witnessed a burst of form from the uber-talented 2018 Roland Garros finalist, Sloane Stephens.

The American, who was ranked 39th going into Rouen, beat some excellent players (Karolina Pliskova, Caroline Garcia) en route to the final. There, she outlasted Magda Linette 6-1 2-6 6-2 to claim the eighth title of her career. The triumph moves the 31-year-old just outside the top 30.

BUCHAREST | ATP 250

In Romania, former Wimbledon quarter-finalist Marton Fucsovics found some much needed confidence after a bad start to the year.

The 32-year-old entered the week at 6-7 for the season but pulled together a good run of victories over Tallon Griekspoor, Corentin Moutet, Alejandro Tabilo and Mariano Navone in the final to earn his second ATP title and propel the Hungarian back inside the top 60.