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"Spending time with family and friends and it's really been healthy and amazing, so I am going to lengthen this period till summer..." Garbine Muguruza had explained her need for a break from tennis back in April. The last time she was on the competitive court was in February at the Lyon Open when she was defeated by Czech teen Linda Noskova in the first round.
Inquiring minds in and out of the tennis world wanted to know after February what she would be doing. Muguruza has had injuries but there seemed to be more mental and emotional situations going on for her prolonged hiatus.
The Spaniard had won 2 grand slams: The 2016 French Open and Wimbledon in 2017. It was in 2021 she'd win the Chicago Tennis Classic title and the year ending event the WTA Finals defeating Anett Kontaveit. Garbine was ranked no.
3 in the world then but slowly things were starting to fizzle on her court performances. She had difficulty getting past the quarterfinals of all the tournaments she entered. Muguruza became more anxiety-ridden as to how she'd turn her losing streak around to success again.
She decided the best way was to take a hiatus from tennis and drop those worries and frustrations for a while. "As of today, I have no intention of returning to competition. My plan right now is to sleep, rest, be with my loved ones, and recover lost time..." Garbine had told a Women's Health Magazine.
The idea of tennis itself was not what Muguruza wanted to do and she had emphasized that "Tennis doesn't have a place in my routine...I'm taking a break and trying to stay away from the courts." But the once smiling and fun-loving Spaniard has now become quite frank and admits that "I still follow my colleagues." She doesn't want the break to be totally defiant but says that "occasionally I can play, more for fun." It might be a very bumpy road as to what Muguruza will do as the end of the season draws near.
Meanwhile her rankings will slowly plummeted, which isn't the key point to her happiness and comfort right now. The decision will be difficult and no one not even Garbine knows, if she will slowly start to practice and think about returning on a very small scale of events? Or will she simply just pack her rackets, tennis mindset and ease gently out of the tennis world and competition completely. Time will tell.