Garbine Muguruza to take a leave of absence from professional tennis

Garbine Muguruza (Tatiana Kulita, Wikimedia Commons)

According to the Associated Press on Tuesday, two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza of Barcelona, Spain is taking an extended break from professional tennis. She has decided to skip the clay court season which most notably includes the French Open, and the grass court season, which most notably includes Wimbledon.

Muguruza won the French Open in 2016. In the final seven years ago, she defeated Serena Williams of the United States, 7-5, 6-4. Muguruza then won Wimbledon in 2017. There she beat Serena’s older sister Venus Williams of the United States, 7-5, 6-0.

Muguruza was once ranked first in the world in 2017, two months after winning Wimbledon, her second grand slam title of her career. Now, remarkably, she is ranked 132nd, and set to drop significantly lower in the world.

In 2023, Muguruza lost her only three matches. She was beaten 6-3, 6-4 to the reigning Olympic gold medalist and 2019 United States Open semifinalist Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in the second Adelaide International in Australia on January 9, then lost 3-6, 7-6, 6-1 to 26th seed Elise Mertens of Belgium (the 2018 Australian Open semifinalist) in the first round of the 2023 Australian Open on January 16, and then lost convincingly 6-1, 6-4 to Linda Noskova of Czechia in the first round of the Lyon Open on January 30.

Due to the fact there appears not to be any definitive physical injury to Muguruza, this appears to be more of an extended mental health break. She follows in the footsteps of Naomi Osaka of Japan and Bianca Andreescu of Canada, who have missed extended time in recent years. It will now be interesting to see if Muguruza will compete at the 2023 United States Open.

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