“Caroline Garcia suffers from anxiety and panic attacks”, — write: sport.ua
“The tournament in Guadalajara marked the end of my 2024 season. It was not an easy decision, because in tennis, every week of rest is a loss of ranking points and “lost” opportunities. But I know it’s the right decision to come back stronger in 2025 and fight for great achievements again.
Physically I’ve pushed my shoulder to the limit trying to recover and still play and it’s just not working. I need more time to recover.
Mentally, I need a break. I need to get away from the constant routine of tennis, take a real vacation, reunite with family and loved ones and allow myself to breathe without the pressure of results.
My mental state has been toxic this year. I lost the fun of playing tennis and became obsessed with ranking and winning. My results did not meet the goals I had set for myself or my expectations. The work, the sacrifices, the pain – everything seemed the same as before, but there were no results and I couldn’t perform at the level I could. It is difficult to come to terms with this.
I’m already 30, and I’ve had an incredible career – won Masters 1000, WTA Finals, Grand Slam tournaments in doubles, reached 4th place in the world. But in my mind, I’m still fixated on what I haven’t achieved. I never became number 1, did not win Grand Slam tournaments, did not climb the Olympic podium. I was inconsistent, I couldn’t stay in the top 10 for a whole year.
Do I believe that I can achieve these results? Some days, yes. Other days I’m not sure. I don’t know if I will be able to continue working the same way as before.
I am tired of anxiety, panic attacks, tears before matches. I’m tired of losing time I could spend with my family and never having a place to call home. I’m tired of living in a world where my worth is measured by last week’s results, rankings, or unforced errors.
For too long, I let tennis consume me, experiencing the emotional ups and downs of each result. But I am more than just my tennis results. I am a woman with values, talents, hobbies, shortcomings and advantages. I’m not perfect, but I try my best.
I would like it to be easy to change, grow, adopt new thinking. I would just like to go out on the court, play freely, smile and make my best shots under pressure. But as my friend Alize Cornet says, real change takes time. You can’t change years of habits overnight.
Lately, I’ve felt overwhelmed at competitions – the pressure to perform, the eyes watching your every move. I struggled with anxiety, closing myself off from others, feeling locked out on the court. Victory no longer brings satisfaction, only relief that it’s over.
And yet, despite all this, I love tennis. He gave me so many lessons, experiences, incredible people (for example, my fiancé) and unforgettable emotions. Tennis made me who I am.
Therefore, I decided to take a break from business for a while. I will take a few weeks off to recharge my batteries and then start preparing for 2025 – preparing myself physically, mentally and tactically.
When I finally retire from tennis, I want to be able to look back and say that I enjoyed this adventure, that I’m proud of myself and that I gave it my all. And in the end, I will acquire some really good things along the way.
Thank you all for your support. See you in Australia,” wrote the tennis player, who is ranked 36th in the world ranking.