"I really enjoy seeing new faces; you never know who's going to win," says Muguruza about the women's tour
Garbiñe Muguruza, director of the WTA Finals, will be watching the top eight players of the season compete in Riyadh over the next week.
Muguruza remains an avid follower of tennis. While the Spaniard has retired, the 32-year-old former professional player is the director of the Riyadh WTA Finals and took the opportunity of the event to give an interview to Spanish media.
She discusses the level of the women's tour in Grand Slams, which saw four different players crowned champions this season (Keys at the Australian Open, Gauff at Roland Garros, Swiatek at Wimbledon, and Sabalenka at the US Open). The former world number one also talked about Sabalenka's chances of winning the WTA Finals for the first time in her career this week.
"There have always been players who have struggled in this very difficult tournament. For one reason or another, they haven't yet won the WTA Finals. It's a tournament played over just a few days. But I think Sabalenka is in very good form and is a strong contender this year because she no longer has the pressure of being number one.
She is already guaranteed to remain at the top of the rankings no matter what until the end of the year, and she no longer has last year's worry and burden about whether she would be number one or not. Because of that, I see her as a contender. Maybe this is her year.
I really like the fact that there have been four different Grand Slam champions this season because they each have a different style. Even in the case of Iga Swiatek, who was herself surprised to win Wimbledon, but she has a game that can adapt to grass.
I like this situation and the fact that it's no longer like before, where the same players won everything. I really enjoy seeing new faces. You never know who's going to win. I think it's cool that there's such a high level of competitiveness," Muguruza told Mundo Deportivo.
Riyad