By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Friday, September 27, 2024
Photo credit: Cameron Spencer/Getty
The 2024 season turned toxic for Caroline Garcia.
In response, Garcia is turning off the season.
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World No. 36 Garcia announced she’s closing the curtain on 2024 early due to a sore shoulder and battered competitive psyche.
The 30-year-old Frenchwoman posted a 17-16 record in 2024 and reached the semifinals of Guadalajara in her final tournament.
Former world No. 4 Garcia said she needs to take time away from tennis to heal her shoulder and reset her mind after a grueling 2024 campaign that saw her register a 3-4 record at the four Grand Slams and fall in the first round of the Paris Olympics.
“Guadalajara marked the end of my 2024 season,” Garcia posted on Instagram. “It wasn’t an easy decision, because in tennis, every week off feels like falling behind—losing ranking points and missing opportunities.
“But I know this is the right call to come back stronger in 2025 and fight for those big moments again.
“Physically, I’ve been pushing my shoulder to its limit, trying to recover while competing and it’s just not working. I need more time off to heal properly.
“Mentally, I need a reset.”
The two-time Roland Garros doubles champion conceded tennis turned “toxic” for her this season as she “lost touch with the joy of being a tennis player.”
“This year, my mindset was toxic,” Garcia posted on Instagram. “I lost touch with the joy of being a tennis player and became obsesse with rankings and wdins. My results didn’t match the goals I set or the expectations I had.”
The announcement comes a month after Garcia shared some of the “hundreds” of hateful personal attacks cyberbullies hit her with online after Mexican Renata Zarazua upset her 6-1, 6-4 in the US Open first round. Some of the hateful messages were both violent and vile.
“I hope your mom dies soon,” one message read.
“I hate you so much,” another posted.
A 2022 US Open semifinalist, Garcia said players are paying a steep emotional price for tennis’ lucrative sponsorship pacts with betting firms.
Garcia said tennis gambling “actively destroys the [lives] of some people.”
“It really worries me when I think about younger players coming up, that have to go through this,” Garcia posted on Instagram. “People that still haven’t yet developed fully as a human and that really might be affected by this hate.
“Maybe you can think that it doesn’t hurt us. But it does. We are humans. And sometimes, when we receive this messages we are already emotionally destroyed after a tough loss. And they can be damaging. Many before me have raised the subject. And still, no progress has been made.”
