Garbiñe Muguruza’s life was always going to get pretty busy in 2026. Her first child is due at the end of January. But Muguruza, who formally retired from tennis in 2024, and later that year became both a television commentator and the tournament director for the WTA Tour Finals, does not appear inclined toward the easy life.

Last week, the two-time Grand Slam champion who spent four weeks as world No. 1 was named the co-tournament director of the Madrid Open. The clay-court tournament in the Spanish capital is one of six flagship mixed events at the 1,000 level, just below the Grand Slams.

The assignment to oversee the tournament alongside her compatriot Feliciano López carries a good bit of responsibility for a former women’s world No. 1. For years, the Madrid Open had a well-earned reputation for treating women as second-class tennis players.

Its former owner, the Romanian billionaire and former player Ion Țiriac, long argued to revoke paying equal prize money. WTA Tour players complained that they received worse court assignments and scheduling compared with their male counterparts.

Sports conglomerate IMG purchased the tournament from Țiriac in 2022, but ugly moments continued. That year, organizers scheduled the women’s singles final between the men’s semifinals; in 2023, they prohibited the women’s doubles finalists from speaking during the trophy ceremony.

The players, Victoria Azarenka, Beatriz Haddad-Maia, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff, all called the decision unacceptable. The disparity in the size of birthday cakes given to Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka also came under fire.

In the same week as the announcement of her new role, Muguruza told El Partizado de Cope in an interview that a male junior player would have beaten her when she was top of the women’s rankings. “It’s more of a show — it has nothing to do with the Battle of the Sexes,” she said of current WTA world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka’s upcoming match with Nick Kyrgios.

Gerard Tsobanian, the chief executive of the Madrid Open, said Muguruza’s appointment was not a symbolic gesture.

“We strongly believe that leadership in tennis should be built from diverse, complimentary perspectives with equal voice and influence,” he said in a statement announcing Muguruza’s appointment. “We don’t just talk about equality, we design it, we implement it and we make it visible.”

In a message Monday, Muguruza did not offer qualms about the tournament’s past.

“The Madrid Open has always been eager to be ahead, to make a step forward, to be a bit of a pioneer,” she said. “I think it’s a great idea to share the workload and provide the best service to both ATP and WTA players.

She said she recognizes it will be a significant step up from the WTA Tour Finals, with far more players to care for, but the role is especially close to her heart because it is the most significant women’s tournament in Spain. She has warm memories of that rare feeling in tennis: the entire stadium being behind her.

“It was stressful but beautiful,” she said.

The role marks the 32-year-old’s latest move in her pivot from on-court to off-court figurehead. That pivot came far earlier than it has for a lot of players of her renown, as more and more play into and through their 30s, or return to the top level of the sport after having children.

Muguruza didn’t figure it would happen this soon. Just a couple of years ago, she was at the top of the sport, seemingly with many years of competition ahead of her. Having beaten Serena Williams to win the 2016 French Open, she beat Venus Williams to win Wimbledon a year later. Her quality dipped for two seasons, but she started 2020 strong, reaching the final of the Australian Open against Sofia Kenin.

Then the Covid-19 pandemic arrived, and Muguruza, like everyone else, spent six months off the grind of the tennis tour. She took a bit to hit her stride again when tennis resumed, but 2021 brought another solid season. She made four finals, won two of them and then walked off with the WTA Tour Finals title in Guadalajara, Mexico.

For Muguruza, who grew up mainly in Spain but was born in Venezuela, playing in Mexico in front of screaming crowds was pure joy. But almost instantly, everything changed. She had experienced drop-offs following her biggest triumphs before, but this one was a little different. “An empty feeling a little bit,” she said during an interview in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, ahead of this year’s Tour Finals.

“It was massive for me to have that opportunity,” she said. “I felt before the tournament, ‘This is mine, it has to be for me.’ But after that event, I definitely felt a drop in energy and a tiny bit of motivation.”

She started to wonder if it was a blip or a red flag. She started to wonder if her mind was telling her to think about what would come after tennis. As losses and early-round exits piled up in 2022, the answer made itself clear. She started to long for what tennis felt like it was keeping from her, especially the budding relationship that would blossom from a chance meeting with a fan during a walk through midtown Manhattan into a marriage.

“That year I was mentally a little bit more exhausted, and not only that, but I started to look forward to being more at home and being more with my family and with my husband,” she said.

“I started to prioritize more my personal than professional life.”

She played four matches at the start of 2023. She lost all of them, and never played again, before formally announcing her retirement in 2024.

In retrospect, she can see how the sport had changed and how that change had gone against her. There was more power, more speed and more movement than when she broke through, with the time to construct points growing shorter.

“You need to be ready for those quick rallies, for those big serves and two, three shots,” she said. “Before, maybe points were a little longer. But again, it depends. Coco Gauff has a different style than Elena Rybakina.”

Who is the next star from Spain, one of the proudest tennis nations and among the most successful of the new century? She said she is keeping a close eye on Jéssica Bouzas Maneiro, the 23-year-old who Muguruza said might be on the verge of a breakout.

“I think something amazing is going to happen soon because she has the level. She’s gotten deep into tournaments but not yet got a trophy. I feel like we can see something exciting next year.”

She has also become friendly with Alcaraz, the men’s world No. 1 and the biggest Spanish tennis hero now. She sought him out when he first arrived on the tour. She said he hasn’t changed at all.

She will take a break from all that for a little while around the birth of her child. Before long though, it will be time to go back to work. The Madrid Open begins April 20 for the players, and for her a good deal sooner. Then comes the WTA Tour Finals in Riyadh next November, its last edition there under the extant deal with the country. WTA Tour chief executive Portia Archer has said she wants to extend it, despite heavy criticism for the country’s human rights record, and for taking the flagship event in women’s tennis to a relatively immature tennis nation.

“As a player you don’t really know what happens behind or outside the tennis court,” Muguruza said. “I’m much more aware now. So many things, but it’s great. I’m really loving this new chapter and this whole new career now.”

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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