The unique champion with Grand Slam final wins over Serena and Venus Williams

Garbine Muguruza is the only player who can say she has beaten both Serena and Venus Williams in Grand Slam finals, although her journey to that achievement did not start smoothly.

Muguruza had already faced Serena in a final at Wimbledon in 2015, where she lost in straight sets. Despite that loss, she later said she wanted another shot at Serena when they met again less than a year later at Roland Garros.

This time around, Muguruza came out on top, beating Serena at the French Open and becoming the first Spanish woman to win a major since Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in 1998.

After her first Grand Slam title, Muguruza struggled to go beyond the quarterfinals for over a year. But things started to click again when Wimbledon rolled around in 2017.

Even so, it was not an obvious turnaround heading into the tournament. She had reached the semifinals in Birmingham but was then heavily beaten by Barbora Strycova in Eastbourne, picking up just one game before heading into SW19.

But Muguruza turned it around quickly. She beat top seed Angelique Kerber on her way to her second Wimbledon final appearance.

The last time she played for the title at Wimbledon, it was Serena across the net. This time it was Venus, now 37 years old and looking for another title late in her career.

This time Muguruza came through without any trouble. She beat Venus 7-5 6-0 and became the first player ever to defeat both Williams sisters in Grand Slam finals – a piece of history no one else shares.

Garbine Muguruza explains why she was looking forward to facing Venus Williams

After her defeat to Serena in the 2015 Wimbledon final, it would have been easy for Muguruza to carry some mental baggage into another meeting with a Williams sister at SW19.

However, as she explained afterward, she was genuinely looking forward to the challenge.

“When I knew I was playing Venus in the final, I was actually looking forward to it. You know, people were surprised when I said in French Open, that I had Serena in the final.

“No, I’m like, But that’s the final. A Wimbledon final with Serena and Venus… You know, she won five times, so she knows how to play.

“For me was a challenge to have her, growing up watching her play. Everybody start laughing. But, in fact, is something incredible. I don’t know, I was so excited to go out there and win, especially over somebody like a role model.”

Muguruza built on that momentum later in 2017 by climbing to world number one for four weeks.

Her fourth Grand Slam final came at the Australian Open in 2020, where Sofia Kenin came out on top.

She retired from tennis in 2024 and has since taken up the role of tournament director of the WTA Finals – a title she won back in 2021.