Caroline Garcia: "To this day, there are still people who do not understand my decision"

It had been a while since we last saw Caroline Garcia win a tennis match. Specifically, since the previous Miami Open, when she defeated Anna Bondar in the first round. Five months later, the French player gifted herself another victory at the WTA 1000 in Cincinnati, coming back in three sets against Sonay Kartal (5-7, 6-4, 6-3). What do these moments feel like knowing that you are just a month away from retiring as a professional? Only she knows, but it's best to listen to her to understand firsthand everything that might be going through her mind. In statements collected by tennis.com, Garcia reflects on her current moment, her decision to hang up the racket, and her recent summer wedding with her partner.

"That week meant a lot to me, within such a special season as 2022 was," Caroline starts when asked about the memories that Cincinnati brings, where she left her name engraved forever after coming from the qualifying rounds. "Honestly, I am glad to have been able to play a bit this year. Obviously, my body hasn't helped me as much in recent months, which is why I didn't play as much as I wanted initially. Now it seems like I will be able to finish my career as healthy as possible at this moment, I will be able to play and enjoy on the court," says a woman with a 4-7 record in the current calendar.

One thing the French tennis player couldn't avoid was the million-dollar question, although it has been answered so many times by now. Yes, she is only 31 years old and surely could physically stay on the circuit for a while longer, but her decision to retire has been linked to other issues for a while. The tour's toughness, dealing with expectations, an overloaded schedule, fierce competition, and, why not say it, the excitement of doing other things, are all factors that came together in Garcia's mind to push her to make a radical change in her structure. An idea that she had been carrying since the beginning of the season and vocalized days before starting Roland Garros. An idea that, of course, she still maintains.

"To this day, there are still people who don't understand, people who tell me: 'Oh, but you're very young.' That's true, but it's also true that I've been here for a long time. I have had several ups and downs, gone through difficult times, both in terms of level and results, even suffered a lot in my personal life, which was the toughest. I don't want to play tennis just for the sake of playing tennis," emphasizes the former world No. 4. "I have been at the top and I know what it takes to get back there, but I no longer have the strength, or perhaps the motivation, to do it anymore... And that's okay, at some point you have to take another path and open a new chapter, hopefully this new chapter will bring more joy and light to my life," she says with enthusiasm.

Happily married

For joy, she experienced it a few weeks ago alongside her partner, Borja Durán. Both enjoyed a stunning ceremony at the end of July to become husband and wife, to celebrate the most beautiful day of their lives, as she describes it.

Image

"It was an unforgettable day, very special, of course. It was even better than we imagined in our own dreams, everything turned out the way we wanted, we were very happy to have so many friends and family by our side celebrating such a special day for us. It's common to hear couples say that it's a very special day, but it really is! We kept that excitement for the next two days, constantly recalling some moments," concludes Garcia, who will now face Karolina Muchova in the second round of Cincinnati.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Caroline Garcia: “A día de hoy, todavía hay gente que no entiende mi decisión”