Garbine Muguruza has landed another big role after being named as Madrid Open co-tournament director alongside Feliciano Lopez.
Muguruza, who played her last match in early 2023 before officially retiring from tennis in April 2024, was named the tournament director for the WTA Finals in Riyadh. The former two-time Grand Slam champion learned quickly and handled pretty well the responsibility of being the WTA Finals tournament director in the event's first two years in Riyadh.
Now, Muguruza is set to have the same role at one of her home tournaments. During her career, the former world No. 1 made eight main draw appearances in Madrid. A bit surprisingly, the Spanish tennis legend always struggled on the clay courts of Caja Magica and only made the round-of-16 at the tournament - she also had three first-round exits and four second-round outings.
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For years, Madrid has been hosting joint Masters and WTA 1000 tournaments.
Muguruza: It is an honor to become a Madrid tournament director
"Very happy. The truth is, this position has always been a dream of mine because it's the only tournament we women have at home. It's also a WTA 1000 event, which makes it incredibly important. It's an honor to be involved in another capacity, off the court and more in the office, as they say," Muguruza told Marca.
"I see it as a natural fit given my experience with the WTA Finals in Riyadh. Being close to the players for two years, that close relationship because I'm a former player who recently retired. I can look after them and make sure they have all the attention they need. It's something that comes naturally to me. It's a very logical transition."
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When the WTA Finals moved to Riyadh in 2024, there was a lot of talk about how players would adjust to Saudi Arabia. So far, everything has gone smoothly.
