Garbine Muguruza looks back on a disappointing season. Since Wimbledon, the Spaniard has only won three matches.
Their 6-4 and 6-0 opening win in Wuhan, China, against Belgium’s Alison van Uytvanck marked only their third victory since the tournament in south-west London. Only against Zhang Shuai, Belinda Bencic and van Uytvanck the 24-year-old won.
She also had to cancel due to an arm injury for the tournaments in San Jose and Montreal. So far, the year for Muguruza has not been a wish at all, as she had to pack her bags in the second round of three out of four Grand Slam tournaments. At the French Open she reached the semi-finals.
In addition to reaching the final in Qatar, the semi-final in Paris has so far been Muguruza’s season highlight. Too few for the world ranking fourteenth. “If you have achieved great things and have ambitious goals, it is always difficult if you do not achieve them,” says the two-time Grand Slam winner.
Despite her form crisis, the Spaniard believes she is on the right track after her win over van Uytvanck. “My game is good. I have to win a few matches in a row and then big things can happen,” Muguruza gives himself confidently.
Last year’s Wimbledon winner has not been able to beat a top 10 player since February and has been waiting for two consecutive victories for three months now. Nevertheless, she can challenge and beat the best in the world: “I have the playful level to it.”
It will be interesting to see if Muguruza can already prove this in Wuhan. In the next round, the Swiss player Viktorija Golubic will play before Caroline Garcia, who is seeded four, could wait in the third round.
The tableau of the Wuhan Open