“It’s like tennis hasn’t let me go”

—How have you been these last few days?

—Well, calm down while you wait for Christmas, which is a wonderful time to be at home. And calmly in my last part of pregnancy, with patience.

—Patience, but co-director of the Mutua Madrid Open. That sounds strong.

-It’s true. It looks awesome. I’m super happy with this opportunity. It was an excellent meeting. And it will not be symbolic, but strategic. I am very happy to participate in this tournament, which is of enormous scale, very important and, in addition, the only women’s tournament in Spain, which gives it even more importance.

— What will your role be?

“It’s a combined tournament and I want that to be reflected in the sporting structure. I want to bring this credibility, and this feminine touch to the management of the tournament. It will not be possible for Feliciano López to be responsible for the men’s team and for me to be responsible for the women’s team; we will complement each other; This will involve mixed management and shared leadership. I am proud to be part of the team and I want to give everything I can from my experience in the world of tennis and my connection with the players on the tour.

—Will you try to promote and highlight the women’s circuit within the tournament? There have always been some differences with the schedules, with the public…

—I will try to be there to help, to give my point of view, with the WTA, to see what changes are necessary, what details we can improve. I haven’t yet started to immerse myself in the project the way I want to, that’s what I’m doing, gathering information to see the most important points that I can provide my perspective on, and that can help. Little by little, I will go deeper. This complement of having two directors will greatly lighten the workload and this shared leadership with Feli (López) will make the tournament as it is, innovative and engaged.

— It’s a role very different from all the others, and one that weighs heavily on you.

—It’s a lot of responsibility; and I’m going to face it, for sure, with a lot of perfectionism, like when I was playing. It’s a very big tournament and everyone has to be happy. But I feel like it’s going to be something natural for me, because I’m surrounded by my environment, on a more corporate level than before. But those few years helped me a lot in training and knowing what to expect. Although the WTA Finals is a smaller tournament than the MMO, which is much larger in scale. But I want to guide the vision of the tournament a little, how to take care of the players, see what they need, how they behave. And it comes naturally to me because I experienced it as a player not too long ago. And also, of course, I want to talk a lot with my co-director, who has a lot of experience, and also guide me so that I can better manage the tournament and move forward in the three-week event.

—Now that you experience it from the outside, what does it feel like to try to improve the conditions of tennis players? Did you encounter a lot of rivals, a lot of walls?

— So far, I haven’t had to fight. And precisely the fact that I am entering this position is to improve myself, to give another point of view. And from the start, everything has been easy, with a very good reception during an event which, I would say, is a pioneer in this approach towards equality. Neither before nor today have I encountered a situation in which I was unable to give my opinion.

—You recently left the circuit, but since you started, have you noticed a real evolution?

-I think so. I notice more interest. The show only gets better and the connection with the audience and sponsors continues to grow. I think women’s tennis is at the top of women’s sports in general. This year, Forbes found that the athletes with the most victories were tennis players. The women’s show is getting super interesting and getting better every year.

— Sometimes everything seems to turn into a battle between boys and girls.

—There is no need to label or compare. It’s the same sport, but each has its own journey, its own interest, its own spectacle. And both women and men should enjoy both because they are interesting in their own right. I don’t see the point in comparing.

— He retired from tennis, but he’s still here. What is stopping you from taking off in this sport?

—When I retired two years ago, it was a beautiful and sad moment. A new stage began that I awaited with great enthusiasm. And with the uncertainty of knowing what this new Garbiñe will look like. But quickly, tennis brought me back to the circuit in another way. I feel like it’s in my DNA. I love tennis and I love competing. And the world of sport has always seemed very beautiful and honest to me. And I overlap with the world of tennis. In a way, it’s like they didn’t let me go. And it’s an honor for me that they continue to love me in the world of tennis, to continue to be part of it. And that they want me for important positions, like the responsibility of being double director… It’s an honor with which I want to give my best version. Little by little, steps are being taken and I hope this is just a step and we will start to see more women in important positions.

— Is there anything you still miss today?

— There are things, yes. In general, I don’t miss the life of an elite athlete; She is very selfless and disciplined, which does not allow you to do anything else or be with your family. And it ends up wearing you out. But I miss the competition, the adrenaline; I miss pumping my fist, being with the fans, playing in front of a live audience, like when I played matches at Caja Mágica. These sensations are very difficult to reproduce and find in life outside of sport.

—With all the bad, good, medium and great that you have experienced in tennis, would you want this life for your children?

—What if I wanted him to be a tennis player? Clear. I want him to play sports and the sport I love the most is tennis. And little by little it would show, but yes, I would love him to play sports and tennis. But the professional’s life is not decided after 5 years. These are stages, if you meet the requirements of personality, talent, sacrifice… there are those who have it more naturally and others who don’t have it. What I love about sports, from what I noticed as a kid, is how much it can focus you, because it’s like having a mission: training, resting, competing, going to that championship. You enter a life where you eat healthy, do your homework, go to bed early; I think it’s a very good system as an education. Then, if you want to be the best at something, tennis player or lawyer, it’s a sacrifice and it will be hard. This has its advantages and disadvantages. But it also brings you many physical and mental benefits… Yes, sport is a good career.

—And lately there has been almost a mastery of events between the WTA Finals and now the Madrid tournament.

— It was a constant learning process. It’s always a role that I loved, since I was a player. I have never hesitated to do acts, events, to deal with sponsors. I actually found it refreshing to do so. And now I’m learning to integrate everything; At least it’s very intense work, but not that long. Monitoring should be done annually, but not every minute or every day. I make a strategic calendar and with the family. I’m learning to manage everything.

— There has always been controversy surrounding these WTA finals in Saudi. As someone who worked on the tournament, how do you see it from the inside?

—I have often received this question, there is this curiosity. During the year, I will do different activities several times: chat with the children, with the parents; organize clinics, events in schools, in universities. We’ve done a lot of things recently and they’ve always treated me very well. What I noticed was how happy the women were that we were there with them to organize this event and do social and community work. They always treated me very well. According to the messages you receive from outside, the first time you went there it was “let’s see what I find”; but I always felt very good. And the players too. They evolve very quickly and change a lot of things.

—I have to ask you about the breakup between Carlos Alcaraz and Juan Carlos Ferrero. How did you experience it?

—Well, surprised, like everyone else. News that we didn’t expect after the quality of their collaboration. Because he had an unbeatable year. We must congratulate Juan Carlos for the excellent work he has done, and Carlos, because he has been a magnificent student.

—How complicated is this relationship between a player paying another person to give them orders?

—Here’s how it works: you hire a team to guide you and help you be the best in the world. This can be a very complex relationship. This is why there are always a lot of changes of coach in a sporting career. A coach rarely stays with a player. Because the tennis player evolves, he wants to listen to something else. Every player is different, but yes, it can be a very complex relationship.

— For better or for worse, you are responsible for everything, aren’t you?

—It’s an individual sport, you have to build your own team and the responsibility is yours. You choose the people you want to work with. And you can decide: now I want a person who will pass this on to me; or expert in that other thing. You have great power to choose and make your decisions, regardless of what others may say. But it’s difficult to have bosses you pay. Dealing with success is as difficult as dealing with failure. Because there is the ego of the player, of the coach; how to do things, what you need at any time.