Garbi\u00f1e Muguruza speaks with the serenity of someone whose life has changed completely but is still involved in tennis. Having recently become a mother and the new co-director of the Mutua Madrid Open, she is embarking on a journey that is very different but no less demanding. She now observes the tour from the inside and smiles about the future.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the day-to-day life of a WTA 1000 co-director like?<\/strong><\/p>\n I want to carefully assess all the changes, see the players area, the courts, the fan zone\u2026 do a general review and familiarize myself with everything. I also want to meet the team in person and sort out any final details. I\u2019ll be working a lot with Feli, who has loads of experience and from whom I\u2019ll learn a great deal this first year.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll be talking to Feli a lot over the next few days\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes, we\u2019ve already spoken a lot since the start of the year. We\u2019ll be working very closely with the whole team. It\u2019s a special tournament with two directors, so we\u2019ll see how we coordinate our schedules and divide up the work. The first week is very long, from 11 in the morning until midnight, and it\u2019s good to be able to support each other.<\/p>\n Have you had to make a lot of calls?<\/strong><\/p>\n Quite a few. For me, it\u2019s easy to talk with managers and players, they see me as approachable. There\u2019ve been requests and questions, especially about the court at the Bernabeu. These last few weeks have been very busy.<\/p>\n What do you feel when you imagine a court in the Bernabeu?<\/strong><\/p>\n When I went there for the promotional video I thought: \u201cWow\u201d. It\u2019s enormous. You can\u2019t compare it to a tennis court. It\u2019s a unique experience. I\u2019m not sure if anything like this has been done before. The court will look tiny inside the stadium, but it\u2019ll be unforgettable. More than the quality of the court, it\u2019s about the experience of playing there.<\/p>\n Players are very meticulous. Could it affect them?<\/strong><\/p>\n We\u2019ll see what the feedback is. It won\u2019t be the same quality as a club court because it\u2019s being installed the day before, but we\u2019re doing everything possible. Maybe it won\u2019t be used for warming up before matches, but it\u2019ll be an amazing experience.<\/p>\n Have you had to announce the wildcards for the women\u2019s draw?<\/strong><\/p>\n Not really. It\u2019s been a team effort. And having Venus Williams is a bonus. She\u2019s a legend who still shows incredible passion for tennis.<\/p>\n There was talk of a possible doubles pairing with Serena\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve seen a bit of Serena Williams practising, but I don\u2019t know more than that. She won\u2019t be coming to Madrid because the wildcards have already been given out. Hopefully we\u2019ll see that duo soon.<\/p>\n The women\u2019s draw is looking very strong.<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s Grand Slam level. Aryna Sabalenka is unstoppable right now, very solid. Elena Rybakina is the only one really challenging her at the moment and Iga \u015awi\u0105tek is always very dangerous on clay.<\/p>\n Will working with Francis Roig benefit Iga?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes, definitely. It\u2019s refreshing for her. She\u2019s always wanted to learn from Rafael Nadal\u2019s environment and that will give her motivation and confidence.<\/p>\n Could Madrid become the fifth Grand Slam?<\/strong><\/p>\n It has everything to compete on that level. Three stadiums with roofs on clay, loads of courts, great organisation. In terms of quality, it\u2019s second to none.<\/p>\n Are you worried about Paula Badosa\u2019s situation?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes. I can see she\u2019s trying with all her strength, her frustration, her fight. It\u2019s tough. But I think she\u2019s one tournament away from changing everything. In Madrid she could have a chance, although playing at home is demanding too.<\/p>\n This year there\u2019ll be some young talent from Madrid.<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s wonderful. Having players from Madrid really motivates the public and the young people. Having a tournament like this in your city has a huge impact.<\/p>\n What sort of requests do the players make?<\/strong><\/p>\n Nothing out of the ordinary: hotels, accreditations\u2026 the usual things. The tournament is already very well organised.<\/p>\n Is it complicated to manage accreditations?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes, you need to be careful with space. Teams have grown a lot in recent years and you have to keep things balanced.<\/p>\n Are you worried about the uncertainty surrounding the WTA Finals?<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s still very early. The situation is being monitored day by day. We\u2019re in April and the tournament is in autumn, but we have to prepare now. There are still no clear answers.<\/p>\n Was it important to get Rybakina back in the fight at the top? <\/strong><\/p>\n Yes. In women\u2019s tennis, there isn\u2019t such a clear rivalry as in the men\u2019s. Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are much more dominant. On the women\u2019s tour, things change more often. Rybakina is very solid now and could fight for the number one spot.<\/p>\n Will singles players be encouraged to form doubles pairs?<\/strong><\/p>\n It very much depends on the players. In long tournaments, some are up for it, but on clay there are also those who prefer to rest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Garbi\u00f1e Muguruza speaks with the serenity of someone whose life has changed completely but is still involved in tennis. Having recently become a mother and the new co-director of the Mutua Madrid Open, she is embarking on a journey that is very different but no less demanding. She now observes the tour from the inside […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":106970,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[837,838,843],"tags":[828,872,831],"class_list":["post-106973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-noticias-tenis-en","category-noticias-tenis-masculino-en","category-noticias-tenis-femenino-en","tag-feliciano-lopez-en-2","tag-garbine-muguruza-en-2","tag-mutua-madrid-open-en-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106973"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106973\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106975,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106973\/revisions\/106975"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}