"Knowing that I might play against Serena Williams affected me" - Garbine Muguruza reveals why she never looks at tournament draws

Former World No.1 Garbine Muguruza recently revealed that Serena Williams is the reason why she never checks the draws for any tournament.

Muguruza beat Williams twice at Roland Garros early in her career to eternally mark her name in history. In a recent interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais, the Spaniard admitted that the 23-time Grand Slam winner was the reason she has never looked at any tournament draws, highlighting her second-round encounter with the American at the 2013 Australian Open, which she lost.

"In 2013, I played my first Grand Slam match at the Australian Open. I looked at the draw and saw that I could play Serena in the second round. The first match went so poorly, and I was so angst-ridden that I almost couldn’t play because of all the thoughts that were racing through my mind at the time. I was thinking, “if I win, I’m going to play her” – a moment that I’ve been preparing for my whole life, from the time I first picked up a racquet in Venezuela," Muguruza revealed.

"Knowing that I might play against Serena affected me so, so, so much that I had to go to a third set against Magdalena Rybarikova in order to win 14-12. Then, against Serena, I had already played the match so many times in my mind that, when the moment came, I was exhausted and couldn’t even move. I lost decisively: 6-2 and 6-0. When I left the court, I told myself: “I’ll never look at another draw.” Since that day, I have preferred to not think any further ahead; she is the reason why," she added.

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"She’s the greatest of all time" - Garbine Muguruza on Serena Williams

Serena Williams (L) and Garbine Muguruza (R) at the 2015 Australian Open

Garbine Muguruza called Serena Williams a role model for the way she transformed the sport with her aggressive style, and called her the "greatest of all time."

"Serena has always been my role model because she transformed tennis. There are those who’ve been inspired by Sharapova or other great players, but Serena’s the one who definitively changed the game," Muguruza said.

"Not only has she dominated the sport for many years, but she has pioneered a powerful and aggressive style that blew away the previous generation, which played more tactical tennis. For all these reasons, she’s the greatest of all time. There’s no doubt about it," she added.

Serena Williams recently crashed out of the 2022 US Open in the third round, which is widely expected to be the final tournament of her glittering career.