Before she came to New York for the 2020 US Open, Tsvetana Pironkova played her last match on tour over three years ago at Wimbledon in 2017. There was no Cocomania yet. Naomi Osaka was world No. 59. Simona Halep had yet to win a major. Serena Williams was preparing to give birth.
Now, into the tournament on a protected ranking, the 32-year-old Bulgarian has recorded her best-ever result in Flushing Meadows by making the third round of the tournament. And she’s done it impressively, dispatching her first two opponents—one of whom was No. 10-seed Garbine Muguruza, the woman who won Wimbledon in 2017—in straight sets. Here’s more on one of the breakout stars of this year’s US Open, including why she decided to come back after spending so much time away.
She’s no stranger to upsets.
Pironkova now owns 22 Top 20 wins in her career, and she recorded three Top 10 wins (over Sara Errani, Petra Kvitova and Angelique Kerber) en route to her sole singles title in Sydney in 2014. Most notably, however, she has beaten five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams twice, in consecutive years, on the grass at the All-England Club.
“It obviously means a lot to me,” Pironkova said after her victory over Muguruza. “But at the same time, I always knew I had it in me because it's not the first time I [won over] a top player. I have been on the tour for almost 15 years, and I had many occasions where I played against the best of the best players. I also scored quite a few wins over them.”
During her time away from the tour, she became a mother.
Pironkova gave birth to her son Alexander in March 2018 and is one of the nine mothers who competed in the women’s singles field at the 2020 US Open.
“Everything changes,” she said of motherhood. “Your priorities have nothing to do with what they did before. Nothing is the same. [But] having the opportunity for him to watch me also makes me really happy. I don't know how to really explain it. It's just great to be playing without that extra pressure that I had on myself before. Before it was almost like a life-and-death situation for me to win a match. Right now, it's not really like that. It's just enjoyment to be on the court.”
She announced her decision to come back to the sport in March—just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
“I just needed to distance myself a little bit for about two years,” she said of her leave from tennis. “Little by little, I started really missing the tour, started watching more tournaments and started to follow the players. I kind of started to make plans in my head looking at the calendar, which tournament would suit me best [for a comeback].”
On March 11, she wrote on Instagram that she would be returning.
“When I announced I was planning to go back on tour, really the next day almost all the tournaments were starting to get canceled,” she said. “I did have my doubts, like, whether it's the right decision or the right time. But it turned out to be the right decision, because it actually gave me more time to prepare, like maybe five or six months more to prepare.”
Still, she gave some thought to whether she wanted to travel to New York for her first tournament back. “I really run everything through my family first; I always care about their counsel. They support me tremendously. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't have their love and support.”
Son Alexander could have a future in sports.
Pironkova is not the only athlete in the family. Her husband, Mihail Mirchez, whom she married in July 2016, is a former Bulgarian football player.
