The Venezuelan-born Swiss-residing Spaniard made history against the most famous family in the women’s game, and there’s no mountains she can’t climb …
1. Kilimanjaro
Garbine Muguruza has already climbed the summit of the tennis rankings, but after a tough 2019, which left her on the precipice of falling outside the top 30, the Spaniard turned her focus to ascending a different type of peak. A five-day expedition to the top of Africa’s highest, Mt Kilimanjaro, ensued. “We crossed waterfalls, rivers, icy rivers, caves, cliffs, and the hardest: frozen nights,” Muguruza wrote in Instagram posts. “At some point, I was crying when my guide told me to not look down at the 300m free-fall.” It was a challenge which helped give the 26-year-old a fresh outlook for the season ahead, to shift her concerns away from tennis for a while. “It was a very hard challenge, completely different of what I do,” she said. “You're climbing that mountain and it's only you. You don't get any award, any prize, any photo, any nothing up there.
“It's really challenging you physically and mentally to be there, and I was just looking for something fun, different experience outside from tennis.
“I really like the experience to see myself in the middle of nowhere and, yeah, just having one clear thought just to keep climbing.”
2. Martinez back on board
As Spain’s first woman to win Wimbledon in 1994, Conchita Martinez seamlessly slotted into an interim coaching role for compatriot Muguruza on her successful 2017 campaign at the All England Club. The 47-year-old rejoined her star charge in the off-season on a full-time basis, and again the Grand Slam results have immediately followed. “It's like couples,” Martinez said. “We all want Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston to get back together, right? Sometimes it happens like that … Now being back with Garbine, it feels great to be back and united, working hard. For me to see her doing well is great.” Martinez joined Muguruza for a five-week training block in San Diego in the off-season, and was relishing having her compatriot as the main voice in her ear now. “We've known each other for so many years. We get along since the first day we met,” Muguruza said. “We've had successful experiences before together, also working with her and as a Fed Cup captain. Of course, there’s no guarantees. Nobody’s magical. I think the secret is put the work, hang in there, fight hard. So far I'm trying to put that together.”
3. She has experienced life at the top
Until this year, Muguruza had not tasted the kind of second-week success at Melbourne Park as she had at Roland Garros or Wimbledon, with her best result being a lone quarterfinal showing three years ago. But that’s not to say Australia hadn’t been the happiest of hunting grounds for the Spaniard – she won her first tour title six years ago at Hobart. Muguruza lost to Serena Williams in the second round on her Melbourne Park debut in 2013 but avenged that defeat in a huge boilover at the same stage at Roland Garros a year later against the world No.1 en route to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. In 2015, Williams again had her number when Muguruza appeared in her first major final at Wimbledon, but she didn’t have to wait long to land the Grand Slam silverware. After back-to-back quarterfinals at Roland Garros she again stunned Williams in straight sets, this time in the final to capture her first major in 2016. The triumph made her just the second Spanish woman after three-time champion Arantxa Sanchez Vicario to win Roland Garros. In 2017, Muguruza triumphed over Venus Williams at Wimbledon. It made her the first player to beat both Williams sisters in major singles finals. Muguruza later rose to world No.1 in September of that year.
4. Star power
Despite finishing an inconsistent 2019 at world No.28, Muguruza’s star power still reeled in the big bucks. She ended the year tied in 10th place for the highest-paid female athletes on the planet with prize money for the season of $US2.4 million and endorsements worth $US3.5 million. In 2018, she was the fourth highest-paid female athlete in the world after only Serena Williams, Caroline Wozniacki and Sloane Stephens, with $US11 million. It was following her 2017 Wimbledon triumph that her profile soared even higher with a hefty bonus from sponsor Adidas, as well as deals with Rolex and Evian. Her other sponsors include Babolat, Beats by Dre and Maui Jim sunglasses. Muguruza attracts a huge supporter base on social media too. She became the most popular top-five player on Instagram in the wake of her Wimbledon 2017 victory, picking more than 100,000 new followers. She now has more than 756,000 on Instagram, 492,200 on Twitter and 452,333 on Facebook. Should she complete three-quarters of a career Grand Slam in Saturday night’s final her following would skyrocket even higher. Fellow former No.1 Simona Halep saw no reason her semifinal conqueror could not return to being one of the biggest star’s in the women’s game. “If she can play every day like this, she can be No.1, for sure,” Halep said. “But it's tough to do that. The consistency on tour, it's the most important thing and the toughest one. She's a great champion. She knows how to win Grand Slams, how to win titles. She's OK. Everyone has tough periods.”
5. She first picked up a racquet in Venezuela
Spain’s most successful women’s player since Arantxa Sanchez Vicario spent the first six years of her life in her mother’s native Venezuela. Born in Caracas, in October 1993, Muguruza first picked up a racquet when she was three, hitting balls with her two brothers, Asier and Igor. In 1999, her family moved to her Basque father’s home country, Spain, where she was enrolled in the Bruguera Tennis Academy in Barcelona. While listed as Spanish with the WTA, it was not until October 2014 the proud dual citizen made the difficult decision to represent Spain over her homeland, Venezuela. “I have Venezuela and Spain in my blood and heart, and family in both countries,” Muguruza said at the time. It was not an easy decision as both her brothers had picked up ATP ranking points played for Venezuela. “I was always following my brothers,” Garbine told Elle in an interview two years ago. “If my brothers hadn’t played [tennis], I never would have picked up a racquet. Tennis isn’t the most popular sport in Venezuela. They wanted to [move to Spain] because it’s a more important sport over there. So we all moved.”