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Career Milestones April 23, 2020

Stepping Stones: Garbiñe Muguruza's path to the top

Look back on the key moments from two-time Grand Slam champion and former World No.1 Garbiñe Muguruza's career so far.

01 /15
Garbiñe Muguruza turned heads on her WTA debut in Miami 2012, where - as an 18-year-old wildcard ranked World No.208 - she took down two seeds, No.9 Vera Zvonareva and No.24 Flavia Pennetta, to reach the fourth round.

Photo by Getty

02 /15
Muguruza continued to rise over summer 2012, reaching her maiden quarterfinal in Fes, making her Grand Slam qualifying debut at Roland Garros and breaking the Top 100 in July after making the Bucharest ITF W100 final.

Photo by Getty

03 /15
At the 2012 US Open, Muguruza made her Grand Slam main draw debut, losing 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-1 in the first round to eventual semifinalist Sara Errani.

Photo by Getty

04 /15
Muguruza's first win on a Grand Slam stage was memorable: a three-hour, 23-minute 4-6, 6-1, 14-12 epic over Magdalena Rybarikova in which she saved three match points, before falling 6-2, 6-0 to Serena Williams in the second round.

Photo by Getty

05 /15
In the first half of 2013, Muguruza reached the last 16 at both Indian Wells and Miami, made her WTA semifinal debut in 's-Hertogenbosch and won a round at each of the first three Slams before taking six months off for ankle surgery.

Photo by Getty

06 /15
In just her second tournament back from ankle surgery, Muguruza dominated the 2014 Hobart field to win her first title as a qualifier, defeating Klara Koukalova in the final and dropping just 22 games over eight matches.

Photo by Getty

07 /15
Muguruza followed Hobart up by extending her winning streak to 11, making her debut in the fourth round of a major with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 upset of Caroline Wozniacki at the Australian Open, before falling to Agnieszka Radwanska.

Photo by Getty

08 /15
A stunning 6-2, 6-2 upset of World No.1 Serena Williams in the second round of Roland Garros 2014 put Muguruza on course for her maiden major quarterfinal, where she fell 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 to eventual champion Maria Sharapova.

Photo by Getty

09 /15
Muguruza made her Top 20 debut in November 2014, and hit the Top 10 after wins over Angelique Kerber, Caroline Wozniacki and Agnieszka Radwanska took her into her first major final at Wimbledon 2015, where she fell to Serena Williams.

Photo by Getty

10 /15
A stellar Asian swing in 2015 saw Muguruza rise into the Top 3 after a final run in Wuhan and her second career title, and first at Premier Mandatory level, in Beijing, where she defeated Timea Bacsinszky in the final.

Photo by Getty

11 /15
At Roland Garros 2016, Muguruza lifted her first Grand Slam trophy - just her third career title - after a 7-5, 6-4 defeat of Serena Williams in the final.

Photo by Getty

12 /15
One year later, though, Muguruza's title defence ended in tears as she fell 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to Kristina Mladenovic in the fourth round of Roland Garros 2017 - a result that dropped her back outside the Top 10.

Photo by Getty

13 /15
A month later, Muguruza would bounce back in style, triumphing over Angelique Kerber, Svetlana Kuznetsova and, in the final, Venus Williams 7-5, 6-0 to lift her second Grand Slam trophy at Wimbledon 2017.

Photo by Getty

14 /15
A fifth career title followed at Cincinnati 2017, where Muguruza defeated Simona Halep 6-1, 6-0 in the final, and after reaching the fourth round of the US Open a month later she ascended to the World No.1 position for the first time.

Photo by Getty

15 /15
Subpar results over the next two years saw Muguruza's ranking slip to World No.36 at the end of 2019 - but she bounced back at the start of 2020 with a run to her fourth major final at the Australian Open, losing 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to Sofia Kenin.

Photo by Getty

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