Former world No. 1 Garbiñe Muguruza officially announced her retirement from professional tennis on Saturday, more than a year after playing her last official WTA tour-level match.
The 30-year-old Spaniard, a two-time Grand Slam champion, made the announcement at a press conference in Madrid, saying that she was ready to officially ready to enter "a new era" of her life. Muguruza's last match came on Jan. 31, 2023, at a WTA 250 tournament in Lyon, France, and last spring, she announced an indefinite sabbatical from the tour, citing a desire to spend more time with friends and family.
Muguruza owns the distinction of being the only woman to ever beat both Serena and Venus Williams in a Grand Slam final: In 2016, she toppled Serena to win her first major at Roland Garros, and a year later, defeated five-time Wimbledon champion Venus at the All England Club for her second Grand Slam singles title. Later that year, she reached world No. 1, and held that spot for four weeks.
A resurgent 2021 later saw Muguruza become the first Spanish woman to win the singles title at the season-ending WTA Finals, which were played that year in Guadalajara, Mexico.
"If, 25 years ago when I started hitting my first tennis balls, someone had told me that I would become a professional tennis player, that I would fulfil my dream of winning Roland Garros and Wimbledon, that I would become No.1 in the world and win the WTA Finals ... I would have thought this person was crazy," Muguruza said in a press release from the WTA announcing her retirement.
Fellow major champions including countryman Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek and Simona Halep heralded Muguruza's career on social media in the aftermath of her announcement.
"Congratulations on a great career," Alcaraz wrote to his fellow Wimbledon champion Muguruza on X. "Enjoy everything that comes now!"
In addiditon to her two major wins, she also reached the Wimbledon final in 2015, and the Australian Open final in 2020. In 10 US Open appearances, Muguruza's best result was the fourth round twice, but New York was nonetheless notable for her career both on and off the court. She made her Grand Slam main-draw debut at the 2012 US Open at age 18, and while in town for the 2021 US Open, she met her soon-to-be husband, Arthur Borges, while exploring Manhattan on her day off.
Per an article in the Spanish-language magazine ¡Hola! that announced their engagement last year, Borges recognized Muguruza as she strolled through Central Park and stopped her to wished her luck at the tournament.
"Tennis has given me a lot in this first part of my life," Muguruza said. "It has been a fantastic journey in which I have experienced unique situations. I have traveled all over the world and experienced many different cultures. I am tremendously grateful to all the people who have helped and accompanied me throughout this chapter, because without them I would not have been able to get here.”
Muguruza was a year-end Top 5 player six times (2015-18, 2021-22), won 10 tour-level singles titles, and posted a career win-loss record of 449-238 (.654). Her $24,813,379 in career prize money ranks 13th all-time in WTA history.
