Muguruza Ends Title Drought in Doha: Almost Forgot the Taste of Victory

Czech star Muguruza has been a key figure in women's tennis over recent years, known for her agile and natural playing style and versatile game that stands out on the tour. Despite impressive performances, this strong competitor had not won a WTA singles title since 2019, making her triumph at this week's WTA Doha event all the more remarkable.

After the match, Muguruza admitted that she had been stuck in a title drought since the 2019 WTA Seoul tournament, having reached four finals in that period but falling short each time. This lingering frustration weighed heavily on her mind. “Honestly, I almost forgot what winning feels like because it’s been so long. Thinking about experiencing that feeling again made me really nervous before the match. I kept wondering, ‘How do I handle this? How do I get into the right mindset?’ When I finally managed it and held up under pressure today, I felt an immense sense of relief. The joy from this victory is truly wonderful.”

Since capturing her first career title, Muguruza has grown rapidly and achieved significant results in major tournaments: reaching the US Open semifinals in both 2023 and 2024, making the French Open final in 2023, and also advancing to the finals of the 2023 WTA Cincinnati and 2024 WTA1000 China Open. However, she has also struggled with injuries during this time, causing multiple lengthy breaks from competition, which likely contributed to the delay in securing another title.

Reflecting on her loss to Gauff in the 2024 China Open final, Muguruza said, “The last time I reached a final, I thought I was playing really well that week, but I ended up losing without a fight. After that, I couldn’t help but doubt myself and wonder, ‘Can I still do this?’ Because I hear what people say — everyone talks about how I’ve only won one title in my career.”

“I don’t let those words get to me, nor do I believe a single trophy defines my career or who I am. But I really wanted to prove to myself that I still have what it takes to win titles and matches. So, I’m incredibly proud of how I performed on court today.”

In the 2026 season, Muguruza is in great physical shape and injury-free. After winning in Doha, her WTA world ranking rose to No. 11. However, she didn’t have much time to celebrate, as she was set to head straight to the UAE for the WTA1000 Dubai tournament. Muguruza reflected, “The pace of the tennis tour is always so fast that sometimes we forget to pause and savor those weeks when we play well, whether it’s a small win or a big one. My next tournament starts tomorrow, so this rhythm is really exhausting. But I still want to take a little break, enjoy this victory with my team, go out with them tonight, and relish this joy a bit longer.”

Muguruza smiled and said, “My team and I agreed that once this tournament is over, we’ll go get some burgers together. I’m starving right now and really looking forward to celebrating this win with everyone over some burgers.”

(Written and edited by: Dato; Photos: Visual China Group)