Just two years ago, a No.14 seeded Garbiñe Muguruza was beaming on Centre Court as she lifted the Venus Rosewater dish, celebrating her title triumph at Wimbledon.
It was her second Grand Slam success – following her victory at Roland-Garros in 2016, and her second final appearance in three years at the All England Club.
The Spaniard is one of just six women in the draw to have lifted the Wimbledon singles trophy but comes to the Championships this year flying well under the radar, and ranked No.27 in the world – her worst ranking in five years.
After losing to Sloane Stephens in the Roland-Garros fourth round last month, the 25-year-old Muguruza pulled out of Birmingham with a left leg injury, making this the first time she enters Wimbledon without playing a grass court event in the build-up. That meant she had an extended preparation period though, and she looked sharp in her practice session with Stephens at Aorangi Park on Sunday.
“We’re happy to be here, happy to compete. Probably feeling like it’s time to start; whatever the outcome is. I think we’ve been practising well. I think Garbiñe is probably hitting the ball really well, now we’ve got to go compete,” Muguruza’s coach Sam Sumyk told wimbledon.com.
Muguruza has landed in the loaded top quarter of the draw that’s being described as the ‘group of death’, and is home to the likes of world No.1 Ashleigh Barty, seven-time winner Serena Williams, defending champion Angelique Kerber, last year’s semi-finalist Julia Goerges, and five-time Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova.
She opens against Brazilian qualifier Beatriz Haddad Maia on Tuesday, with Barty looming ahead as a possible third round opponent.
With just one semi-final showing standing out as her best result in her last seven Grand Slams, Muguruza is searching for the kind of form that saw her reach the No.1 ranking spot in September 2017.
“Because she won big, she reached the highest ranking, whatever it is, obviously when you accomplish these type of things pretty young, pretty early, you get a status. And you feel after that you’re under the microscope. That’s a challenge. One challenge. There are many, but that’s one,” explains Sumyk, who has been working with Muguruza for nearly four years.
Muguruza has a 21-10 win-loss this season, with one International-level (lowest tier on the women’s tour) title to her name in Monterrey. The last Premier-level (or above) title she picked up was at Cincinnati in August 2017, but Sumyk is not concerned and says his charge is mentally ready to perform well on the sport’s biggest stage.
“Of course, she is there mentally. That never really goes away. There are days where the motivation, like everybody, it’s tough to go to the office. But overall mentally she’s very good,” he insists.
“It’s getting better and better as well, I feel, since the beginning of the year, the desire, the enthusiasm, the commitment, everything was there, but it still is there, and I think a little bit higher than before. I think it’s just a matter of time again. I think we’re on a good path, good track.”
But is she able to accept the valleys she is experiencing between the peaks?
“She has to accept that. Whatever choice do you have if you cannot accept it? And it doesn’t mean you accept and then wait and see. You still have to put the work in every day, you still have to have the desire, put the intensity and the mindset in the practice and the match.
"But sometimes it doesn’t go your way, you can do everything good but you don’t get the result right away. But if you never give up, it’s going to come. It will come, there’s no doubt about it. But if you listen to everybody, you’re dead,” he says.
