Garbine Muguruza believes there is "a huge difference" between male and female players, and claims she would have lost to a male junior player even if she played that match when she was the WTA world No. 1.
Muguruza, who turned pro in 2012 and retired from pro tennis last year, became a Grand Slam champion at the 2016 French Open before winning her second Major at Wimbledon the following year. The Spanish tennis legend also reached the world No. 1 spot in September 2017 and spent a total of weeks as the top-ranked player in the game.
In 15 days, current WTA world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will take on Nick Kyrgios in Dubai. The Belarusian four-time Grand Slam champion has been shrugging off the criticism surrounding their match by confidently stating multiple times that she has what it takes to challenge the 2022 Wimbledon finalist.
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Muguruza: I think a junior would beat me even if I were the world No. 1
I think a junior would beat me even if I were ranked No. 1. Ive had a lot of sparring partners, and every time I had to play a practice set, Id end up angry. How can I not win a set against him? And he wasnt even a professional. Its a huge difference. Its not just power Physically, the muscles, the stamina a man has Its many things. I have two brothers and I cant beat them. Yes, they were professionals, but they werent top 100 or anything," the former world No. 1 said.
Muguruza also opined that the Sabalenka and Kyrgios match couldn't be compared to the original Battle of the Sexes that was played between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs.
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This is more like, lets do this for fun. She seems very motivated, so Im curious to see whats going to happen," Muguruza added.
