Background and career
Garbiñe Muguruza Blanco (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡaɾˈβiɲe muɣuˈɾuθa ˈβlaŋko]; born 8 October 1993) is a Venezuelan-born Spanish former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), and world No. 10 in doubles. Muguruza won ten WTA Tour-level singles titles, including two majors at the 2016 French Open and the 2017 Wimbledon Championships, as well as the 2021 WTA Finals. She also finished runner-up at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships and the 2020 Australian Open.
With powerful groundstrokes and an aggressive style of play, Muguruza came to prominence at the 2012 Miami Open by reaching the fourth round defeating two top ten players. In 2015, Muguruza reached her first major final at Wimbledon, where she lost to Serena Williams. She then won her first Premier-level crown at the 2015 China Open, and qualified for her first WTA Finals in singles, losing to Agnieszka Radwańska in the semifinals. Muguruza then enjoyed the greatest achievements of her career in the following six years, winning the 2016 French Open and the 2017 Wimbledon Championships (defeating Serena and Venus Williams in the finals, respectively), reaching the world No. 1 singles ranking, reaching the 2020 Australian Open final, and winning the 2021 WTA Finals. Muguruza is the only person to beat both Williams sisters in a grand slam final. After playing her last professional singles match in January 2023, Muguruza formally retired from the sport in April 2024 at the age of 30.
Muguruza was also successful in doubles, winning five titles, finishing runner-up at the 2015 WTA Finals and reaching the 2014 French Open semifinals, always partnering her compatriot Carla Suárez Navarro.
