“I thought I was going to be more at home, but it turns out I’m traveling so much—but in a nice way,” she says. “I’m not stressed, I’m not carrying my 55 racquets, I’m not nervous. I’m happy to travel in this way.”
“I’m just doing all the things that I couldn’t do before, spending time with my loved ones. Now I’m feeling that personal side, and before it was, everything professional.”
While one player has two Grand Slams and the other has 22, there are similarities between Muguruza and Nadal. They’re both driven by family. They each took their respective tours by storm with ferocious tennis that, at their peaks, were some of the best we’ve ever witnessed. They regularly represented their nation in international play.
One big difference? The way they’ve said goodbye. Nine months after her loss in Lyon, Muguruza told Women’s Health that she had “no intention” to come back, even though she hadn’t actually retired. Six more months passed before she made it official.
While Nadal has made it clear that he’s winding down, his off-ramp has been a constantly moving exit. Many felt it was coming at Roland Garros, but he played in Paris. The Olympics—where Nadal went 1-1 in singles, and teamed with Carlos Alcaraz in doubles—came and went. He skipped the US Open but said in August he would return to the court at Laver Cup. But a few weeks later, he withdrew from that event, yet left his playing status up in the air.
“It’s hard to know him,” says Muguruza. “He’s very shy.”
“We talked a little bit at the Laureus Awards in Madrid earlier this year. (Muguruza is a Laureus Ambassador.) He said, ‘This is my last year,’ but he didn’t share anything else. I don’t want to ask him personal questions.”
