Garbine Muguruza has stepped up in Grand Slam events in 2015. (Getty)
If you’re just a casual tennis fan, there’s a good chance you’ve never heard of Garbine Muguruza.
Well, that’s going to change.
The 21-year-old, who turned pro in March 2012, is beginning to gain a reputation as a player who steps up when the lights are brightest. Most recently, she advanced to the semifinals of Wimbledon 2015.
She’s climbing the rankings and raking in the cash on the WTA Tour. And she appears just to be scratching the surface of her potential.
Here’s what you need to know about Muguruza:
1. Garbine Is of Spanish Descent
(Twitter)
Garbine was born to a Spanish father, Jose Antonio Muguruza, and a Venezuelan mother, Scarlet Blanco.
She was born on October 8, 1993, in Caracas, Venezuela. Muguruza currently calls Barcelona, Spain, home.
She has 2 brothers: Asier, an engineer, and Igor, an economist.
2. She Has 1 Career WTA Singles Title
Muguruza has 1 career WTA singles title, which came in January 2014 at the Hobart International in Australia.
She defeated Klára Zakopalová 6-4, 6-0 to claim the championship.
Garbine has won 4 doubles titles on the WTA Tour.
Before the WTA, Muguruza dominated the ITF Tour with 7 singles titles.
3. Muguruza Beat Serena Williams In the French Open
As mentioned above, Garbi has been stepping up in the major tournaments.
In 2014, she picked up her biggest win, a 6-2, 6-2 upset of Serena Williams in the French Open to make the quarterfinals. Muguruza also made the Roland Garros quarters in 2015.
Garbine said in a post-match press conference in 2014:
It’s a dream [come true]. Since I was a child, I thought, Oh, I want to play against Serena on center court, and today was the day, and I think I did very good.
She made the 4th round of the Australian Open in both 2014 and 2015.
Now Garbine plays for a shot in the Wimbledon 2015 final with, perhaps, another matchup with Serena looming.
4. Muguruza Has Impressive Stats
(Getty)
For her career, Muguruza has an impressive 215-109 singles record and 61-37 in doubles.
She’s made over $2.54 million in career purse money and that’ll certainly rise.
And in the most recent WTA rankings before Wimbledon 2015 (June 29), she was No. 20. Garbine peaked at No. 19 earlier this year.
On the doubles side, she’s also currently in the top 20, sitting at No. 16.
5. She Stands 6-Feet Tall
(Getty)
If you watch her out there, you can see Muguruza has some height to her. Six feet of it, to be exact.
The right-hander, who prefers the two-handed backhand, can pile up the aces and prefers to play on hardcourt surfaces.
She said her favorite players to watch growing up were Serena Williams and Pete Sampras.
You can follow her on Twitter @GarbiMuguruza.
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