Muguruza Seeking Balance After Highs And Lows Of 2016

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Garbiñe Muguruza

2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.3
Year-End Ranking: No.7
Season Highlights: Title at Roland Garros, semifinals in Rome and Cincinnati
Best Major Result: Champion (French Open)

2017 Outlook

World No.7 Garbiñe Muguruza’s 2016 season was a study in contrasts.

Following up and down results at the start of the year, the 23-year-old peaked at the right time to stun the world and claim her maiden major at the French Open.

But she didn’t advance past the third round at any other Grand Slam, and didn’t reach a WTA final all year long, with her best results coming in the form of semifinals appearances at Rome and Cincinnati.

The mercurial Spaniard was the first to acknowledge the mental toll of her season’s extreme highs and lows.

“Winning Roland Garros has been the best and worst part of the year,” Muguruza admitted to Marca in October ahead of the WTA Finals. “It might sound strange but it was like a double-edged sword.

“I won Roland Garros, but at other tournaments it was hard for me to play at the same level… I felt more responsibility, more pressure, more eyes on me, more of a feeling that you have to win because it’s what is expected of you.”

Looking ahead to 2017, Muguruza will look to step off the rollercoaster and regain the one aspect missing from her world-beater game: consistency.

“[My objective after winning Roland Garros] is to never believe that at 25 years old you will have achieved everything that you want, because in the end no player reaches their highest level at 22.

“I’ll take my time with everything. And if it doesn’t come next year, well, so it goes. That’s how I try to reassure myself.”

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