Woodbridge: Muguruza emerging as true No.1

In Serena Williams’ absence, we’ve seen the back and forth of the No.1 ranking, changing like the flight ticker at an airport. And with most of the field at this week’s WTA Finals still in contention to finish the year at No.1, it’s tightly bunched at the top.

Of those who have held the No.1 ranking the past six months it is Garbine Muguruza who stands out as having a greater sense of belonging in that top spot.

With that sense of belonging has come an aura; not exactly of invincibility, but of ownership and of complete confidence that stands out in her peer group. That photo of the elite eight players we saw in Singapore? It was Muguruza who carried a look of authority, almost looking at the rest of them and thinking if not telling them: if I’m in form, I’ve got you all covered.

When you stand in that line-up, as we saw in Singapore, and you are a French and Wimbledon champion and the people next to you haven’t won any of those majors, you stand a bit taller. Muguruza knows it, she feels it, and her opponents all know it.

Being No.1 is lovely, but you need to have held one of the key parts of what makes tennis important – a Grand Slam title – to be considered a true No.1.

For Muguruza, it’s all come from experience. It’s come from having won a French Open title, then struggling after that breakthrough with time commitments and her elevated ranking and the expectations she placed on herself and those that came from outside. Once this year’s French Open had come and gone you could see the pressure valve totally release. She got over to the grass courts and played the game that she’s capable of… And went and won Wimbledon.

Now she’s a double Grand Slam champion. With triumphs on two very difference surfaces she knows that under pressure, she’s got it. She’s played two of her very best matches in Grand Slam finals. And she’s started to truly believe in herself.

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When you walk out on court with someone like that, they have an aura. They have an ability to control the court. It starts from the walk on, to which side of the umpire’s net they sit, to how they control when the umpire does the coin toss, to how long they take between points, to where towels come from the ball kids. Such players are like the conductor of an orchestra; their orchestra is the centre court, and you’re just a small part of their orchestra, stuck in the back playing your percussion instrument.

When you’re on court with those players as their opponent, you’re not only battling yourself, you’re also battling their aura, which is already like being down a break of serve.

This is what I’m sensing in Muguruza. She’s coming into her own – it looks like she’s ready to flourish and take over. And to be honest, the game kind of needs that. It needs someone to be comfortable in their own skin, comfortable in winning under pressure.

There are clear, key points that are starting to separate Muguruza from the rest of the field. At six-foot-one, she’s athletic and moves well. Technically, she’s continued to improve; her serve and her backhand are both getting better. We now know for sure that her tactical awareness is far more astute, and she has the confidence to execute those tactics – look at how she committed to charging the net at Wimbledon.

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As a coach you can advise your player: I want you to do this. But if in the heat of the moment or the battle, if they get scared or back off, then they can’t win. But at Wimbledon she was given some clear tactics, she executed them and they were responsible for her taking the title.

There’s one area she can still improve, and that’s her performance is the early stages of tournaments, when she hasn’t quite found the ball striking or the rhythm that she would like. The great players, like Serena, find ways to fight, grit, and claw their way through early encounters. When they get through, they can almost find their form overnight and then inevitably are on their way to winning a title. This is the next phase for Muguruza.

Confidence is also key for Murguruza, she now is not as nervous as she once was. She’s a mature woman, rather than a young girl playing tennis, and that’s important – a lot of these players are basically still kids, it takes time to mentally mature. Muguruza has been through that, and she’s now on the other side. She is now comfortable with all of the demands that are put on her. Learning to say no and understand the right things to do to help your tennis is key – you can’t be successful without doing your work first, and winning matches. Then the money and fame follow.

When push comes to shove, someone like Serena does the winning. And that’s what the other women need to do. And it’s Muguruza who looks like she is the one willing to put her hand up as the replacement.