Guiomar Maristany: "This award has come to me at 26 years old, maybe before I wasn't ready"

Spanish tennis is smiling again on the big stages. After a brilliant preliminary phase, Guiomar Maristany will make her debut this Sunday at the 2026 Australian Open, her first Grand Slam tournament. We interviewed her before her first-round match.

But first, let's learn her full name: Guiomar Maristany Zuleta de Reales (Barcelona, 1999). At 26 years old, the Catalan has needed a long journey to reap the rewards of her hard work, and here she is. Trained by Lourdes Domínguez for almost eight seasons, Guio will be one of the two Spaniards, alongside Rafa Jódar, making their Grand Slam debut at this 2026 Australian Open. It's a good moment to get in touch with her to hear about the challenges she has faced to reach this point, her playing style, and the secrets behind her last names. In a few hours, she will face Polina Kudermetova, but first, let's explore her story.

Were you expecting a result like this?

I don't know; I would say no. The truth is that in the previous training days, I didn't feel very well, but it's true that several players were experiencing the same. Then, when the draw for the preliminary phase was out, and I saw that I was facing Sherif, I knew that advancing from the first round would be very tough. It was a tough match, but I was very brave, and I felt satisfied with how I faced it. That also helped me for the next one, gave me confidence, so I'm very happy with my level in all three matches.

How about the conditions, as fast as ever?

Well, I had just played the previous week in Canberra, where the courts were indeed very fast, and I struggled a lot there. Then coming here and thinking: 'Wow, I can play!' Maybe that's why I didn't notice it as much, although if you play against someone with a good serve, it can be tough to return.

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You're more of a clay court player.

It's true that my game should adapt better to fast courts because I like to be aggressive, but us Spaniards have something that suits clay courts better since we grew up playing on them. I love playing on clay.

What does it mean to compete in your first Grand Slam?

It's any tennis player's dream. Just playing the Grand Slam qualifiers is already a goal for anyone; in fact, I set myself the goal this season to try to get through them. I remember the day I made my debut at the 2024 US Open; I was very nervous, and I had a tough round, but in 2025, I managed to play them all. Those first times are hard to handle, but I think I did quite well here. It's like a dream come true.

If someone had told you that your first time would be in Australia... Would you have believed it?

I don't think so (laughs). I would have bet more on Roland Garros, as it's clay, but I'm delighted that it has come here in Australia.

You receive this prize at 26, which is not usual.

It's complicated; each player has their own timing and a different path. It came to me at 26, I know many people get it much earlier, but I don't dwell on it. It came to me at 26, perfect, I'm happy. Maybe I wasn't ready before, that's why I had been working with my team for so long. Now I feel much more stable and with fewer injuries, which has helped me find more consistency.

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You've been a professional for almost a decade, what are the challenges you've faced that have hindered your progress?

First of all, I started a bit later because I went to school until I was 18, and I didn't go full-time into tennis until I finished high school, which you notice at the beginning. It's also true that I had a late physical change; I was very thin and not very strong, which was noticeable when competing against physically developed players. It was hard for me to make that leap, to become physically strong, although from 20 to 22, I was practically stopped due to a serious injury. Then starting again isn't easy; you have discomfort everywhere, and when you're not physically well, it's harder to improve tennis aspects.

I imagine that injury was your lowest point.

It was tough; now it seems very distant, I don't know if I could endure such a thing again. The good thing was that it happened during the pandemic period when everything was on hold, but the problem was that I couldn't get treated because it was all remote. Then others started competing, and they were unable to tell me the origin of the injury, so it was like walking blind. It was tough to deal with, honestly.

What was it?

It was a long thoracic nerve issue, a kind of injury with an indefinite timeline. It supposedly healed, but I still had a bad shoulder. By the end of 2020, I had no pain, but I could hardly lift my arm away from my body. I could only make tennis gestures because that's what I had been doing all my life, but I lost the rest of the movements.

Is it resolved now?

It's resolved, but I still monitor it closely with occasional check-ups. Fortunately, it hasn't caused me any more problems.

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Tell me about Lourdes Domínguez, your coach. What does she mean to you?

I've been with Lourdes since the summer of 2018, a long time... It excites me to think about her; I can picture the moment we hugged when I passed the preliminary phase. It was very emotional to experience something like that after fighting together for so long. We've been through all kinds of situations, but she has always been there. I consider her like a second mother; she gives me a lot of confidence on the court, and the fact that she was a player also helps immensely. She is a vital person for me, in my team and in my life.

Any advice she often repeats to you?

Give your all so that when you look back, you won't regret not having been there every day, fighting.

On a media level, have you noticed much repercussion from this achievement?

I've received many messages from players on the circuit, family, close friends, even rivals from when I was young. Not so much from the media, but I'm very comfortable with that; I prefer to stay under the radar. Luckily, I haven't had to deal with the media hounding me (laughs).

I have to ask about your last name: Marisntany Zuleta de Reales. The Melbourne speakers must be delighted.

For now, they're pronouncing it very well (laughs). I know it's very long; the referees must struggle a bit, in fact, I'm considering shortening it. It might be a torture for some, but it's something that identifies me. For example, in the draws, it's very curious; if you want to find my name, it always appears in small letters, I don't fit (laughs). I've thought about shortening it, but I have to think about it; I'll decide later.

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Keep them; aristocratic surnames are not to be changed.

That's what they tell me, that they sound royal. 'Maristany' is normal, it's Catalan, but my mother's name is more interesting because it's compound, 'Zuleta de Reales.' I'm not quite sure of the origin, but I think some relative of mine belonged to the royalty...

Really?

There's a statue in Madrid of a man on horseback who supposedly is my great-great-grandfather, but I don't know the story well; I have to find out.

Lastly, what goal have you set for yourself in 2026?

We haven't set any specific goals in terms of results; we prefer to focus on the day-to-day work, keeping the motivation on a journey that can be very tough. And in terms of ranking... I would like to finish the year in the top 100, yes. With my psychologist, I set the goal of playing in a Grand Slam main draw; it was very exciting for me to surpass the qualifiers, so this is something I'm taking with me.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Guiomar Maristany: “Me ha llegado este premio con 26 años, quizá antes no estaba preparada”