Wimbledon: Who is Jessica Bouzas, the Spanish revelation at Wimbledon? The silence tattooed on a finger, the horses and the school of David Ferrer

Amid the ecstasy of her victory on Tuesday in the first round of Wimbledon against the defending champion, Marketa Vondrousova,the Spanish Jessica Bouzas He remembered that watching her on television was his idol, Garbiñe Muguruza,and she became even more excited. “Just today I saw a comment from her on one of my Instagram posts. It was pure coincidence. I was eating and I thought: ‘It can’t be her, it’s a fake account’. But no, no, I checked and it was her,” commented the 21-year-old, suddenly the sensation of the London Grand Slam.

This Thursday, in the second round, she will face the also Spanish Cristina Bucsa And unlike just 48 hours ago, many fans will already be watching her strokes. Because Vondrousova, ranked sixth in the world, did not arrive at the All England Club in her best form, too many ups and downs – despite her recent quarter-final at Roland Garros – too many doubts, but Bouzas’ victory was an earthquake for the tournament. Only one champion from the previous year had fallen so soon, Steffi Graf in 1994; such is the importance of the feat.

“Five things you didn’t know about Jessica Bouzas” was the title of the WTA tour website on Wednesday, and among those things there are several interesting facts. For example, the seven tattoos she has on her body, one of them a ‘Shhhh’ on a finger as a teenage demand: silence, be quiet. For example, her passion for horses, a childhood obsession that she has ended up transforming into a hobby in her adult life. Or for example, her desire to experience the Festas de San Roque in her town, Vilagarcía de Arousa, which are held in mid-August and always catch her in the middle of her American tour.

This year is your year

Beyond that, Bouzas exemplifies that amid the generational crisis in Spanish tennis there is still plenty of talent and that the work of the country’s schools will flourish again at some point. A footballer as a child, her father encouraged her to try tennis at the O Rial Tennis Club and she became so hooked that at the age of 13 she was already packing her bags to join the Academy. David Ferrer from La Nucía. There, far from the rain of Galicia and fully professional, she stood out as a junior and began to visit Futures tournaments. In just under two years, between 2021 and 2023, she won 11.

But she was missing the leap among the world’s best that came this spring. Within weeks she won her first WTA 125 tournament in Antalya (Turkey), entered the Top 100 of the world rankings for the first time and eliminated Paula Badosa in the first round of the Mutua Madrid Open. Her victory over Vondrousova, her first Grand Slam triumph, was actually just another step in a progression that should take her to greater heights.

“I knew she would feel a lot of pressure as the defending champion and I am aware that the first rounds are always difficult for the favourites. I tried not to think about it when I was on court, I tried to focus on myself and play very freely, knowing that I had nothing to lose,” analysed the Spaniard who should now consolidate her position in the rankings and in the elite. With an aggressive game, comparable to Muguruza’s style despite the height difference, Bouzas promises a promising future.

After Muguruza’s withdrawal and Badosa’s back problems, this is what Spanish tennis needs. For example, only two representatives will attend the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris, Sarah Smiles and Bucsa, with more options in the doubles draw than in the singles tournament. Bouzas exemplifies that amid the generational crisis in Spanish tennis there is still plenty of talent and that the work of the country’s schools will flourish again at some point.