Garbine Muguruza, two-time Grand Slam champion, retires from tennis

Spain’s multiple Grand Slam tennis champion, and former World No.1, Garbiñe Muguruza on Saturday announced her retirement from the sport, bringing the curtain down on a glittering career. The 30-year-old initially stepped back from tournament tennis in 2023 and ahead of the Laureus World Sports Awards – taking place in Madrid on Monday, April 22 – officially ended her competitive career and revealed that her future will include a role as a Laureus Ambassador. Garbiñe announced her decision at a press conference following a visit to Fundación A LA PAR, a sports programme based in Madrid.

Garbiñe Muguruza turned professional in 2012 and won her first major title in 2016, defeating Serena Williams in the final of the French Open. The following year she was crowned Wimbledon champion after a win over Venus Williams in the final, and reached No.1 in the world rankings. She was a finalist at the Australian Open in 2020 and, the following year, won the season-ending WTA Finals Championship.

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Garbiñe will be one of a galaxy of sporting stars from the past and the present to attend the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid on Monday. The Laureus statuette has become the most coveted prize of its kind among athletes, and the only one decided by athletes themselves – the 69-strong Laureus World Sports Academy, made up of all-time sporting champions. Nominees across categories including Sportsman of the Year, Sportswoman of the Year, Comeback of the Year, Team of the Year and Breakthrough of the Year will attend the show in Madrid, which will be broadcast globally. As well as the Awards honouring the greatest competitors of the past calendar year, only at Laureus do unique interactions between athletes light up social channels throughout the sporting world.

As part of this celebration of sport in the city, Garbiñe joined a Laureus visit to Fundación A LA PAR, a programme working to change the lives and outlooks of athletes with intellectual disabilities through the power of sport. A LA PAR strives for equality, promotes inclusion and builds life skills in children and young adults in Madrid. In her new position as a Laureus Ambassador, Garbiñe was an active participant and is now looking forward to developing her role at Laureus and using her platform to help young people through sport.

Reflecting on her retirement from tennis and her new role as a Laureus Ambassador, Garbiñe Muguruza, said: “If 25 years ago when I started hitting my first tennis balls someone had told me that I would become a professional tennis player, that I would fulfil my dream of winning Roland Garros and Wimbledon, that I would become number 1 in the world and win the WTA Finals… I would have thought this person was crazy.”

“Tennis has given me a lot in this first part of my life. It has been a fantastic journey in which I have experienced unique situations. I have travelled all over the world and experienced many different cultures. I am tremendously grateful to all the people who have helped and accompanied me throughout this chapter because without them I would not have been able to get here. I have grown and matured in a very different way than what can be considered normal, and now I am ready to start a new chapter in my life, which will surely be linked in some way to tennis and sports. I hope that my collaboration with Laureus Sport for Good is the beginning of many more projects in which I can dedicate myself and help young people through sport.”

Muguruza was welcomed into the Laureus movement by Martina Navratilova, winner of 18 Grand Slam singles titles and a Member of the Laureus World Sports Academy – the sporting champions whose votes decide the winners of coveted statuettes at the Laureus World Sports Awards.

“It’s a difficult decision for any athlete to stop competing for good,” said Navratilova. “But Garbiñe can celebrate a career most players only dream about – multiple Slams, World No.1, a two-time Olympian – and I’m delighted she’s chosen to work with Laureus to use her position and profile to help made a difference through sport for good. I followed her career closely and even when she was competing at the top of the sport, she also had a focus on how she could help and inspire young people. That is exactly what we do with Laureus – and we are going to be stronger for having Garbiñe on our team.”