Garbine was definitely one of the stories of 2015. From just an aspiring youngster she became part of the game's top players in 12 months time and she is considered to be one of the favourites for the 4 slams and the Olympics next year. So,what is Garbi's potential for the 2015 season? This is my opinion.
2015:The bomb that exploded
Garbine has been considered as one of the main WTA rising talents so far. Especially,after her win over Serena Williams in the 2nd round of the French Open last year her name started to be heard again and again in the tennis fan circles. The only thing that Garbi needed for her fearless game to shine on court was a healthy and fit year and that year was 2015. 2015 was just incredible for the young Spaniard. She won many top 10 players many of them multiple times,as Agniezska Radwanska and Angelique Kerber while she made the second week in 3 of the 4 Grand Slams including the Wimbledon Final and the Roland Garros Quarter Finals.
In the rest tournaments she was not as astonishing especially in the US swing,where she was dealing for her new ranking as a top player. However, she had an unbelievable Asian Swing reaching the QF in Tokyo,the Final in Wuhan and the tip of the iceberg she won her first Premier Title,actually a Premier Mandatory title in Beijing,securing a place in the Singapore Elite 8. In Singapore she went 3-0 in her group,losing only one set to Petra Kvitova but she lost to Aga Radwanska in the Semifinals. Also, she made the Final in Doubles. These were unbelievable results for Garbine who managed to end the year as world number 3 exposing for the first time her fearless game that gave her nicknames such as "The Bomb" and "Muguruthless".
2016:Is Muguruza the new Bouchard?
Many are the tennis fans who have compared Garbine to Genie. Genie had an amazing 2014 as Garbine this year but her 2015 as we know was something more than devastating. However,we are not here to talk about Genie. Garbi is a different person and even though the 2 seasons had many similarities(finals on quick surfaces etc.) I'm strongly against that comparison for the following reasons. First of all Garbi is older and more mature on court. I mean that Garbi has a more grown up play style and mental mindset. Muguruza has proved that she is more mature inside the tennis court and she has for sure a better behaviour than the Canadian and I thing that one of the main reasons Genie has not succeeded after 2014 is the fact that she needed to become more mature and play as a favourite. Garbi proved that she can play as a favourite in Beijing and in Singapore this year where her results were living up to her seeding.
Moreover, Garbine's game has more options than Genie's. Genie's routine is just to play the ball as quick as she can without many other pros. In the meantime Garbi has a big serve and return as well as really good volleys due to her doubles career. Furthermore,her Asian swing shows us that Garbi can have consistent results while Genie's had many up and downs. Finally,Muguruza has had a great a record over many of the elite players which means that she has read their game perfectly well. In general, I predict that Garbine will continue the good results in 2016 and she will remain in top 10,but I feel it is too early for her to win a slam or an Olympic medal,but who knows...anything can happen!
Thanks for reading! Hope you will have great holidays! Please, comment me your opinion!
P.S.: All the photos are from Getty!
2015:The bomb that exploded
Garbine has been considered as one of the main WTA rising talents so far. Especially,after her win over Serena Williams in the 2nd round of the French Open last year her name started to be heard again and again in the tennis fan circles. The only thing that Garbi needed for her fearless game to shine on court was a healthy and fit year and that year was 2015. 2015 was just incredible for the young Spaniard. She won many top 10 players many of them multiple times,as Agniezska Radwanska and Angelique Kerber while she made the second week in 3 of the 4 Grand Slams including the Wimbledon Final and the Roland Garros Quarter Finals.
In the rest tournaments she was not as astonishing especially in the US swing,where she was dealing for her new ranking as a top player. However, she had an unbelievable Asian Swing reaching the QF in Tokyo,the Final in Wuhan and the tip of the iceberg she won her first Premier Title,actually a Premier Mandatory title in Beijing,securing a place in the Singapore Elite 8. In Singapore she went 3-0 in her group,losing only one set to Petra Kvitova but she lost to Aga Radwanska in the Semifinals. Also, she made the Final in Doubles. These were unbelievable results for Garbine who managed to end the year as world number 3 exposing for the first time her fearless game that gave her nicknames such as "The Bomb" and "Muguruthless".2016:Is Muguruza the new Bouchard?
Many are the tennis fans who have compared Garbine to Genie. Genie had an amazing 2014 as Garbine this year but her 2015 as we know was something more than devastating. However,we are not here to talk about Genie. Garbi is a different person and even though the 2 seasons had many similarities(finals on quick surfaces etc.) I'm strongly against that comparison for the following reasons. First of all Garbi is older and more mature on court. I mean that Garbi has a more grown up play style and mental mindset. Muguruza has proved that she is more mature inside the tennis court and she has for sure a better behaviour than the Canadian and I thing that one of the main reasons Genie has not succeeded after 2014 is the fact that she needed to become more mature and play as a favourite. Garbi proved that she can play as a favourite in Beijing and in Singapore this year where her results were living up to her seeding. 
Moreover, Garbine's game has more options than Genie's. Genie's routine is just to play the ball as quick as she can without many other pros. In the meantime Garbi has a big serve and return as well as really good volleys due to her doubles career. Furthermore,her Asian swing shows us that Garbi can have consistent results while Genie's had many up and downs. Finally,Muguruza has had a great a record over many of the elite players which means that she has read their game perfectly well. In general, I predict that Garbine will continue the good results in 2016 and she will remain in top 10,but I feel it is too early for her to win a slam or an Olympic medal,but who knows...anything can happen!Thanks for reading! Hope you will have great holidays! Please, comment me your opinion!
P.S.: All the photos are from Getty!
Here are my thoughts on the article:
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, thanks for choosing to write about Garbiñe. Although she has received a lot of media attention lately (mostly from her mother country), I still believe the media on womens tennis focuses more on the glitz and glamour of the off court scene rather than the game or tournament itself. Serena can win all of the matches and tournaments in 2016 but Maria will still be paid higher due to various print and tv endorsements she will be getting. No hating on Maria here, just an observation I can see through female athletes and womens sports in general. Maria is good and she excells off court too. Players who have both dominating skills and looks are a rarity and are a gem to advertisers. What I'm saying is that, viewers still value the looks of the players and can forgive and compensate their lack of talent.
Second, what a year it has been for Garbiñe in 2015. As a fan of the game and some of the players, I love it when I see the drive, determination and the will of athletes to achieve their goals and dreams.
It wasn't always easy going up the ladder. For the early part of 2015, Garbi was under the radar although she had hints of becoming a star. She has the size, skills set and overall game to beat anyone in the tournament. At 6 feet, with large hands and feet and a muscular frame, no wonder her game revolves around agression and power. Her serves and returns are strong. You cannot be caught sleeping around the corner if you are playing with her.
If there is an aspect of the game she needs to improve on, it would probably be her tactical side of the game. If she had the footwork of Aga, the high level of game IQ of Petra, the agression of Vika (pre injuries) and the power and dominance of Serena, she will most definitely win her first Grand Slam!
But we all know that having the skill set of all the elite players is impossible. Hence, we can only expect her to improve, enhance and master the skills to become an all around elite tennis player. I hope with the guidance of Sumyk, she will reach that level soon.
Garbiñe in my opinion, is not the second coming of Genie. No biases here. I really think they have a different style of play and they have different personalities.
There was an article about Garbiñe saying she does not have friends in the WTA tour. I believe this is not intentional. First of all, it's her first time to be part of the top 8. The rest of the members have been there for quite some time and have known each other for so long. I have never heard of her speaking ill against her opponents and would always tell positive or good points about their game during post match interviews. She would kiss and shake hands with her opponents after her matches.
Genie on the other hand has stated that she has no plans on befriending girls on the tour. I don't agree with this but if it's a perspective she believes in, then people should respect that. I just think it's nice to know the other girls and learn about their culture.
I wish all of the girls luck. This is for the betterment of tennis as a whole. I wish Garbi great health. I'm really excited to see her soon ��
First of all thanks for taking the time to comment!Now,I really agree with the first part of your comment. Especially in women's tennis player that are models as well or have different off court activities get more attention and I live this every day as in my country the journalists who do not have idea of women's tennis do "reportages" which not only are false and without covering all the action but also the only pics and vids of them are Maria and Ana with swimsuits :p . Moreover, I also agree with the fact that her body type helps her a lot to have powerful weapons while she needs some better tactics (p.ex. she knew that she had qualified but still gave her all against Petra in Singapore and as a result she lost in the semis),but I think that when she gets older and she won't have the same energy and physical situation as now she will work on it.Finally, as I said Garbi is no way like Genie. She is more friendly,happy and with a better constructed game! :)
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