Since retiring from tennis last year, Garbine Muguruza has enjoyed spending time at home, developing routines and living more slowly and peacefully.
Yet the former world No.1 and two-time Grand Slam champion has certainly not disconnected from the sport.
Now the WTA Finals tournament director, Muguruza will be travelling to Roland Garros and Wimbledon – the two majors at which she triumphed – and has surprised herself with how much she has enjoyed following the on-court action since she stopped competing.
"I love being in the tournaments, maybe not necessarily the entire tournaments as I used to, but definitely to be present, see some matches, check the players, just be around,” she said on the latest episode of The Sit-Down podcast.
“As a tournament director I feel like I need to be there, you know? And ask the players, and say hi, and how are you doing.
LISTEN: The Sit-Down with Garbine Muguruza
“I just feel like I'm part of the community; I think that tennis is in my DNA. So it's where I have to be. Maybe not as much, but I still need to be there.
“I'm really on top of the tour. Like, I've never been so [much] watching matches and following the news. I thought I was gonna be a little bit more passive, but I am super on it.”
Muguruza has loved watching former coach Conchita Martinez link up with teenage superstar Mirra Andreeva, who this year has won WTA 1000 titles in Dubai and Indian Wells and soared into the top 10.
Andreeva’s rise to join the women currently at the top of the game, plus the presence of older generations who continue to compete, is something Muguruza finds compelling.
"The tour is great. A lot of new faces; a lot of faces from my time as well. I follow it very closely,” she said.
“Things that I love is, for example, the Conchi-Mirra [partnership], I follow all the time. I have all these alerts in my phone when they jump on court and who are they playing, and I chat with Conchi a lot. I actually saw them a couple of times and some matches as well live, which is fun, always.
"I love how [Aryna] Sabalenka is dominating. I watch her quite often. She's just a perfect personality for world No.1. She's fun, she's not shy, she has a lot of fans, she keeps her social media active, she has amazing strength and talent. So I really like her as No.1.
"Just following the American tennis, it's crazy... It's too many players in the top 10 (smiling), what a success they're having.
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"And seeing Iga [Swiatek] a little bit, how she's gonna play this French Open, following her as well.”
During the podcast interview – conducted during the Roland Garros qualifying week – Muguruza was asked who she thought might fare well in Paris.
All of the players she identified have progressed to the quarterfinals, setting the stage for an incredible business end of the tournament.
"I gotta put Sabalenka up there; she's like the No.1 by far, so many difference in [ranking] points, and she just won Madrid,” Muguruza said.
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“Coco [Gauff], good as well. She's just amazing on clay courts. She just lost two finals [in Madrid and Rome], she's gonna be up there in the quarters, semis.
“As a claycourt player, I really like Zheng [Qinwen]. She's an amazing claycourt player; I feel like she just has a perfect claycourt game.
“And Iga, of course. She's won four times French Open. Can you believe it? Four times. It's insane that she's so young and she's won it four times.
“If she keeps going like this, she's gonna make a record.”