Working with her compatriot and fellow Wimbledon champion has helped Muguruza find consistency and a new outlook
As the tennis season finally turned away from Australia and towards the Middle East this month, the Qatar Total Open produced a championship clash of titans. There stood Petra Kvitova and Garbiñe Muguruza, both of them six-foot forces and two-times grand slam champions who believe they can hit anybody off the court. Throughout her career, Kvitova has been described as one of the tour’s streakiest players but her dismantling of Muguruza revealed the truth: as the Czech lifted her 28th career title, the Spaniard remained with just seven.
Among the best players of her generation, Muguruza’s inconsistency has no parallel. Seven years ago, she arrived in the spotlight almost fully formed. As she floated up the rankings, her form would erupt for short periods on the biggest stages of major tournaments, but in the day‑to‑day grind of a 10-month season it never endured.
