Written by Richard Pagliaro | @Itenisi_Manje | Friday, September 27, 2024
Photo credit: Cameron Spencer/Getty
The 2024 season turned out to be dangerous Caroline Garcia.
In response, Garcia closes the season.
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World No. 36 Garcia announced that he will close the curtain in 2024 in the morning due to a sore shoulder and a damaged competitive spirit.
The 30-year-old Frenchwoman posted a 17-16 record in 2024 and reached the semifinals in Guadalajara in her last tournament.
Former world No. 4 Garcia said he needed time away from tennis to heal his shoulder and refresh his mind after a difficult 2024 campaign that saw him register a 3-4 record in four Grand Slams before falling in the first round at the Paris Olympics.
“Guadalajara marked the end of my 2024 season,” Garcia wrote on Instagram. “It wasn’t an easy decision, because in tennis, every week of rest feels like a delay—losing ranking points and missing opportunities.
“But I know this is the right call to come back strong in 2025 and fight for those big moments again.
“Physically I’ve been pushing my shoulder, trying to recover during the competition but it’s not working. I need more time to recover properly.
“Mentally, I need a reset.”
The two-time Roland Garros champion admitted that tennis became “toxic” for him this season as he “lost the joy of being a tennis player.”
“This year, my mind was toxic,” Garcia said on Instagram. “I lost the joy of being a tennis player and became obsessed with ranking and winning. My results did not match my goals or expectations.
The announcement comes a month after Garcia shared “hundreds” of hateful personal attacks from online bullies after Mexicans. Renata Zarazua upset him 6-1, 6-4 in the first round of the US Open. Some of the hate messages were violent and cruel.
“I hope your mother dies soon,” read another message.
“I hate you so much,” wrote another.
A 2022 US Open semifinalist, Garcia said players are paying a high emotional price for lucrative tennis sponsorship deals with betting firms.
Garcia said gambling on tennis is “very destructive.” [lives] to other people.”
“It worries me a lot when I think about the young players coming up, who have to go through this,” Garcia wrote on Instagram. “People who have not fully grown as human beings and who may be affected by this hatred.
“You might think it doesn’t hurt. But it does. We are people. And sometimes, when we get these messages we just lose emotionally after a heavy loss. And they can hurt. Many before me have raised the topic. However, no progress has been made.”
