US Open – Caroline Garcia: “It’s painful, at the moment, to play tennis”

Caroline Garcia is not getting out of it. Already beaten in the first round of the Paris Olympic Games, the Frenchwoman once again took the door open in a major event, this time at the US Open, Tuesday evening, against the Mexican Renata Zarazua. While she had not passed the second round of the first three Grand Slam tournaments of the year, the Lyonnaise did worse in New York. Against the 92nd player in the world, who only needed 1h18 to dismiss her (6-1, 6-4).

The months go by and the results are similar for the 30-year-old player, who has not won two matches in a row since her semi-final in Rouen in April. But the negative spiral is only getting worse. “It’s painful, at the moment, to play tennis,” she admitted in comments relayed by AFP. “It’s not something that’s supposed to happen like this. I’m not having a very good time. In these conditions, it’s hard to put your shots together and, that’s regardless of the level of the opponent.”

Caroline Garcia at the US Open in 2024

It’s also hard to play tournaments one after the other. That’s how Garcia took a step back after the Olympics, not going through Toronto, in particular, while her right shoulder, strapped on Tuesday, is still causing her problems. “We’re doing things differently, lightening the tournament schedule to spend time training in a quieter place than in the washing machine of tournaments. You’re running around, a bit like a hamster on its wheel. We’re trying to change that a bit,” she continued.

Physically drained, mentally drained, the Lyonnaise can no longer find the key, no matter how she prepares. And the range of solutions to reverse the trend seems to be shrinking. “A burnout? Possible,” she admitted. “There is no way out. There is the ranking, this thing of permanent points. Is it the healthiest way to play tennis? Not really. The circuit is more and more intense, physically and emotionally demanding. Several players have already complained. For the moment, it’s holding, we’ll see.” Or proof that the problem is much deeper than a simple tennis problem…