Shaping her WTA Finals vision in Riyadh

Garbiñe Muguruza announced her retirement back in April, but she’s already hitting balls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, preparing for the WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF, which begin Nov. 2.

Wait … what?

Muguruza has been in the indoor arena at King Saud University, checked the high-end hotel rooms to ensure the most exacting standards are in place, and supervised the intense preparation that comes with a year-end championship.

The two-time Grand Slam singles champion — and 2021 WTA Finals winner in Guadalajara — finds herself in a new role: tournament director.

“For people looking at the big picture, there are also so many little details,” Muguruza said recently from her home in Geneva. “I can bring the player’s perspective to the event. This is something the WTA didn’t have before in this tournament. Knowing what the players might need, might feel, being there for them, talking to them and making sure they have everything they need — that’s my job.

“Making sure they feel comfortable in our new home. It’s a country that tennis hasn’t reached yet, so it’s going to be historic to have a WTA Finals in the Kingdom. And being part of the tennis community is in my DNA.”

Earlier this month, Muguruza married Arthur Borges — they met by chance a few years ago in New York’s Central Park — but her focus has also been on this elite event featuring the world’s best singles and doubles players. There is more than $15 million in prize money and a wealth of ranking points available.

For Muguruza, it’s been an education in learning the business of sports.

“Oh my gosh,” she said. “Structure, sponsors, working with a huge team, everyone professional in their own area. As a player, you’re doing your thing, and you don’t realize how much it takes to put an event like this together.”

As a player, Muguruza was formidable, winning at Roland Garros in 2016 and Wimbledon a year later. In 2021, she qualified for the year-end championships for the fourth and final time of her career. Muguruza was at the US Open when she found out she had qualified from WTA chairman Steve Simon.

“He said, ‘There’s a big chance that it’s going to go to Mexico,’” the Caracas, Venezuela-born Muguruza said. “And when I heard that I was like, ‘What? You’re telling me that it’s going to be Latin America?’ This is my place. This is my finals.’

“I loved playing in Latin America, and somehow I connected with the crowd. Everything just came along.”

This was only three years ago and Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek were also in the field, with Sabalenka as the top seed. Muguruza, seeded No.6, had lost her previous match to Anett Kontaveit, in the Moscow quarterfinals, but in Guadalajara, she avenged that loss, winning in straight sets. She was extended to three sets but rallied to take out Barbora Krejcikova. In her final match in Group play, Muguruza lost a taut third-set tiebreak to Karolina Pliskova but still advanced to the semifinals.

There, Muguruza handled Paula Badosa in straight sets, then defeated Kontaveit for the second time 6-3, 7-5, to take the WTA Finals title — her last as a professional.

“It’s already hard just qualifying for the tournament, insane, really,” Muguruza said. “The only thought is, ‘I need to qualify, I need to qualify.’ And then you’re there playing. It’s the climax of one of my best seasons, winning many tournaments, qualifying and winning in Mexico. It was an amazing, amazing finish.”

Speaking of amazing, Muguruza was part of one of the wildest WTA Finals ever in 2017 in Singapore. Entering the tournament, Simona Halep held a 41-point lead on Muguruza for the No.1 ranking, the narrowest margin in history. Incredibly, the next five seeded players — Karolina Pliskova, Elina Svitolina, Venus Williams, Caroline Wozniacki and Jelena Ostapenko – were also all in the mix for year-end No.1. Seven players for one spot. It had never happened, and it hasn’t happened since.

“That year,” Muguruza said, “was the toughest. Everyone was playing well. It just shows you there was not one dominant player. It was a battle every final. Which is rare, because usually there are one or two players at a better level.

“But it was good to have this competition. You almost have a heart attack every tournament. And then another one at the WTA Finals.”

Muguruza won her first match, over Ostapenko, but fell to both Pliskova and Williams in group play. Ultimately, Wozniacki was the champion, besting Williams 6-4, 6-4 in the final, ending a seven-match losing streak to the American.

When Pliskova lost in the semifinals, Halep was the year-end No.1. Muguruza was No.2.

“Disappointing, obviously,” she said. “Playing this tournament at the end — whatever happens, I made it. I was a great player this year. But every match we were playing for No.1. It was just so draining. I did what I could, but I guess it was not meant to be.

“It’s the ultimate tournament, the last of the year, where you play for everything. It will be very interesting this year with [No.1] Aryna Sabalenka. It’s going to be interesting how she handles all this pressure.”

Muguruza watched the recent gathering of elite ATP Tour players in Riyadh for the Six Kings exhibition with great interest. In fact, she was a commentator for Tennis Channel.

“It shows there’s a lot of interest in tennis in the Kingdom,” Muguruza said. “It was an exhibition, but ours is an official tournament. I’m really looking forward to it.

“We want to make it great so when they come back next year, they’ll be really excited.”