This season hasn’t been very good for Garbine Muguruza, who is fully aware that she hasn't competed at her peak level.
Like most sports, tennis has metrics that allow players and fans to judge how a season has shaped for them. There are many ways to do that because it’s all trackable. Whether it’s the amount of wins, amount of finals, or the amount of trophies, it's easy to compare to the previous seasons.
When it comes to Muguruza, the 2022 season has been poor by all metrics. Up until this point of the season, Muguruza has 12 wins and 15 losses, which is a terrible mark for any tennis player, let alone one who posted a 42-17 record last year.
Her 12th win of the season came at the Japan Open, where she beat Despina Papamichail 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the next round, but even with that win, Muguruza understands that this is a far cry from what she’s capable of.
The Spaniard talked about her season after the match, admitting that it has been a tough season, but her goal for the upcoming weeks is to try and finish on a high note because, ultimately, it’s all about confidence.
"It’s been a tough season, a little bit of a roller coaster. I don’t know if I’m going to be able, with these last tournaments, to have a different feeling. That’s my goal. I think that it’s all about confidence and how well you’re playing or how many matches you’ve been playing."
If a player doesn’t have confidence, they likely won’t play well. It’s sometimes really that simple, and if she can finish this season strongly, she can give herself confidence for the next year.
"Definitely, this year, I feel that I haven’t played that many matches, so obviously, when the important moments come, you really feel that confidence that is not quite there yet. I think also trying and trying and trying, at some point, I will get rewarded."