“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,” said Caroline Garcia after wrapping up her last season early due to exhaustion and mental health concerns. The Spaniard, who is a fairly renowned figure on the tour, suffered anxiety issues in the 2024 season that hampered her on-court showing. Despite marking a comeback this year, Garcia has found a way to cope. She tried her hand at something she thought wasn’t sustainable in the competitive circuit.

Fresh off her Round of 64 exit to Polish No. 1 Iga Swiatek at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Garcia decided to cool off with a splendid night out with her fellow mates and formidable rivals. Taking to X, the 31-year-old uploaded a photo hanging out with players like Elena Rybakina, Maria Sakkari, and Jasmine Paolini. She expressed her heartfelt gratitude to everyone for an unforgettable night, stating how moments like these are a “reward” in itself. Moreover, she also revealed that their conversations would soon be aired on ‘Tennis Insider’.

“What an evening. As I’ve shared many times, my tennis career hasn’t been an easy one. I was taught that I couldn’t be friends with other girls, or have much fun off the court,” she wrote. “And I believed this for many years. To the point it became very dark, affecting my health. And to be now having such a great time off court, sharing moments like last evening, with fellow players (and great champions!), learn from each other, have a laugh and enjoy a good time together, simply as 4 girls trying their best in life, it’s a reward I can’t describe how good it feels,” Garcia wrote on X.

For those unaware, the 30-year-old Frenchwoman, who clinched the 2022 WTA Finals and reached the last four of the US Open the same year, highlighted that she wasn’t physically fit to complete the 2024 season and stressed the need to hit the reset button after failing to move past the second round of any of the four Grand Slams.

Pulling the plug on her season early for the much-needed break only worked in Garcia’s favor, as she went on to realize she had a lot more to be grateful for.

Caroline Garcia explains that her surprise touring break was ‘good for her’

Caroline Garcia hasn’t enjoyed much luck on the tour this season either. Still adamant about finding success on the Grand Slam stage, she suffered an opening round to Naomi Osaka at the Australian Open. Despite a below-average showing so far, Garcia has realized it was about time she moved on from her toxic relationship with the sport.

Speaking to ‘The National’, the Spaniard narrated the lessons she learned during her much-needed break from competitive tennis. “You don’t really know when you take a break what it’s going to bring you, but it was good for me to take time to really think it through and ask myself good questions and understand where I was in my career and why I wanted to keep doing it – or not.”

Continuing further, she added, “The last two years the relation with tennis was very toxic and very negative and I didn’t really want to go practice or compete. And now I’m happy to go practice. I understand that there are good days and bad days and when tennis practice of the day is over, even if it was bad I can move on to my day and have a great day and this is the most important thing.”

For now, the former World No. 4 is looking forward to her opening round showcase at the Miami Open. Garcia is slated to lock horns with Anna Bondar on Wednesday, March 19.