PARIS — Former world No. 4 Caroline Garcia mentioned she has been struggling with nervousness and panic assaults and won’t play once more this season as she seems to be to mentally and bodily reset forward of 2025.
Garcia, 30, who gained the WTA Finals in 2022 and reached the US Open semifinals that 12 months, additionally mentioned she was not bodily match to complete the present season, by which she has did not make it previous the second spherical at any Grand Slam.
“Bodily, I have been pushing my shoulder to its restrict, making an attempt to get well whereas competing, and it is simply not working. I would like extra day off to heal correctly,” Garcia wrote on X.
“Mentally, I would like a reset. I have to step away from the fixed grind of tennis.
“I am exhausted from the nervousness, the panic assaults, the tears earlier than matches. Uninterested in lacking out on household moments and by no means having a spot to actually name house. I am bored with residing in a world the place my price is measured by final week’s outcomes, my rating, or my unforced errors.”
Whereas her profession has featured quite a few highs — she has gained two doubles Grand Slam titles and 11 WTA titles, together with the Cincinnati Masters — Garcia mentioned she has turn into fixated on what she sees as her failures.
“In my thoughts, I have been caught on what I have not achieved. I by no means made it to primary, by no means gained a (singles) Slam, by no means reached an Olympic podium. I have been inconsistent, unable to remain within the high 10 for a full 12 months,” she wrote.
World No. 36 Garcia, nonetheless, continues to be decided to come back again in 2025.
“I am selecting to step away for now. I am taking a couple of weeks off to recharge, then I am going to begin getting ready for 2025 early — preparing bodily, mentally, and tactically,” she mentioned.
Psychological well being has been a sizzling matter in sports activities, and particularly in tennis since Naomi Osaka withdrew from the 2021 French Open after deciding to boycott postmatch media duties, explaining she had been affected by despair for nearly three years.
