Australian Open finalist Garbine Muguruza granted wildcard for Dubai Duty Free Championships

WTA Tour

Michael Graham
February 12, 2020

The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships have granted Australian Open finalist Garbine Muguruza a wildcard to enter next week.

The tournament suffered a blow on Tuesday when US Open champion Bianca Andreescu pulled out with he knee injury that has kept her on the sidelines since Flushing Meadows.

However, they have added a little sprinkling of pedigree with the addition of Muguruza.

“Garbine Muguruza performed magnificently in Melbourne and came very close to adding to her collection of Grand Slam titles, and it is with great pleasure that we welcome her back to Dubai,” said Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free.

“This will be her sixth consecutive time here and she has twice been a semi-finalist. We look forward with great interest to see how she fares here next week.”

Muguruza is in need of a bounce-back year after a disappointing 2019, and she made a great start reaching the Australian Open final last month.

She, though, says it can’t be a comeback because she never went anywhere.

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“I think it’s a great start of the year, for sure,” Muguruza said. “I don’t think at all about the previous years – the good ones or the bad ones.

“I just started a new year, I have a new team. I didn’t disappear, I was there. Not reaching final rounds, for sure [but] I’m just going to a tournament and see how far I can go.”

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Bianca Andreescu Garbine Muguruza