Garbine Muguruza: With 'no intention' to return to tennis soon, what does future hold for former world No. 1?
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Updated 17/10/2023 at 06:22 GMT
Garbine Muguruza says she has "no intention" of returning to tennis anytime soon, having not played a match since January. The former world No. 1 has stepped away from the sport and said her "plan is to just sleep, rest, spend time with loved ones and make up for lost time". The two-time Grand Slam winner has fallen to No. 1061 in the world rankings.
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The last few years have seen several star names step away from tennis.
Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Ashleigh Barty have retired. Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber have taken time off as they have become mothers.
And Garbine Muguruza has now revealed that she is on an indefinite break and has “no intention” of returning to the sport anytime soon.
The former world No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam champion has not played a match since late January.
In April, she said that she would be extending her hiatus, and six months later, there seems no immediate end in sight.
“Right now, I have no intention [about returning]," the 30-year-old told Women’s Health.
“My plan is to just sleep, rest, spend time with loved ones and make up for lost time... I’m not really thinking beyond what I’m doing today, tomorrow, and this week, you know?
"And as for how I’m feeling about taking this break that I announced back in mid-April, I must say I’m really enjoying it.
“I was just so tired of the pressure and being judged by the media and experts every week. So, this break is exactly what my body and mind needed. I’m genuinely loving every moment of it.”
During her time away from tennis, Muguruza has been teaching Zumba, seen in her 30th birthday, and got engaged.
From years spent practising daily on the WTA Tour, tennis has now very much taken a back seat.
“Tennis has no place in my routine,” she added. “I still pay attention to my peers, from time to time I play, but not intensely, more for fun.
“It doesn't occupy my mind, my day or my routines, I'm really taking a real break and trying to stay away from the courts.”
Muguruza has fallen to No. 1061 in the world rankings due to her absence this season.
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Garbine Muguruza is 0-4 this season
Image credit: Getty Images
She was world No. 1 in 2017 when she beat Venus Williams in the Wimbledon final to win the second Grand Slam title of her career.
She won the WTA Finals in 2021 but the following season managed just 12 wins and struggled to rediscover her best form. Her most recent match was a straight-sets defeat to Linda Noskova in January which saw her fall to 0-4 for the year.
Asked about how she keeps motivating during training, Muguruza said: “My motivation is always very high, but in a world as competitive as high-level tennis, I hold on very strongly to the fact that if I don't train, my opponents will and they will beat me because they will be more prepared.”
Although she has no comeback plans, Muguruza said in the summer that she doesn’t see her break as a permanent move away from the sport.
“I haven’t set a date for a comeback just yet, but it definitely won’t be this year because I want to spend time with my family," she is quoted as saying by El Pais.
"It’s not a permanent farewell or anything, just a year off to recharge. It’s not really the competition I miss, but I do miss that feeling of winning. Right now, my main goal is to rest up and unwind.”
Muguruza has experienced dips in form before; in 2018 and 2019 she slipped down the rankings before climbing back up, reaching a fourth Grand Slam final and getting back to No. 3 in the world.
But will she return to the top this time? And if so, when?
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