Garbine Muguruza's Loss Means Her Ascension to Serena's Successor Must Wait

A few weeks after Garbine Muguruza ascended to the top of women’s tennis at Paris, she lost her footing at Wimbledon. The No. 2-ranked Spanish star played disastrous tennis in the second round, losing with an epidemic of errors in her 6-3, 6-2 defeat to Jana Cepelova.

So much for dethroning Serena Williams, who is the queen of tennis, and long may she reign.

Much of the talk following Muguruza’s French Open title was that she had defeated Serena with the kind of power and potential that had tennis fans thinking she was ready to rise to the top of the WTA. The French Open final looked like the proverbial passing of the torch, with 34-year-old Serena losing to the 22-year-old Spaniard. Except that it’s not going to happen now, if it does at all.

Was this just a temporary setback, a tough pill for a young champion learning the ropes as one of the favorite stars? Or is Muguruza just another contender who will burst in and out like a bolt of lightning, with plenty of flash but not a lot of staying power?

No Muguruza Revolution

Let’s make it clear that Muguruza is an exceptional talent. She’s tall, athletic, strong and can hit 21st-century groundstrokes that could possibly win several majors in the next decade.

She can hit anyone off the court, and she has excitable confidence, saying before her French Open final in ESPN, “She (Serena) and I are players who like dictating the game. There will be moments when she'll be dominating, and maybe at times I will be dominating. I think I can be a tough opponent, too."

Lesser players would have folded the minute they walked out to a major final against Serena, but Muguruza has shown that she has the mentality and strength to back up her talent.

It’s just that one major is only one giant step for the months and years that it takes to become a legendary champion, and Muguruza will need to pass many more championship tests if she is to create her own special career on the short list of all-time greats. It’s far too soon to think about that now.

Losing her second match at Wimbledon this week denies Muguruza the chance to win the “Channel Slam” (French-Wimbledon combination) and the No. 1 ranking. In the modern sports world, fans and media tend to extrapolate for these kinds of accomplishments as if it were that easy.

Instead, Muguruza is being reminded of how very hard it is to get one major and then follow it up with more all-time tennis. Following in the footsteps of Serena is exponentially harder than winning a major.

Maybe Muguruza has been put under too much pressure because of Serena, who has won the second-most major titles in the Open era. That’s something that happens about one in every two or three tennis generations, at the least, so it’s unlikely that Muguruza or anyone else currently on tour is going to approach Serena’s legacy. That kind of comparison must stop for many years at the least.

Back to the Grind

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Besides her physical gifts, glowing smile and French Open title, Muguruza has a strong team of coaches and support team that will remind her that tennis is more grind than glamour. Raised on Spanish clay, she knows that each point must be constructed through supreme footwork, torquing topspin and championship patience.

It’s the kind of approach she will need in progressing as a champion in the months and years to come, taking the losses with the victories and learning how to keep it all in perspective. Wimbledon might have been a bust, but it’s just the beginning of a bright future and many more opportunities to one day prove that she is indeed the best in the world.

Nobody’s going to hand that to her, least of all Serena. There are other hungry players like fellow rising stars Madison Keys, Simona Halep and Belinda Bencic. There are tough veterans like Victoria Azarenka, Agnieszka Radwanska and Angelique Kerber. There’s enough star power in a deep WTA to keep Muguruza working hard and aspiring to improve everything about her game.

Muguruza will probably win more titles, but the journeys ahead will determine how often. She could indeed be that special player, but for now, the revolution will have to wait.