Caroline Garcia issued a candid confession on the latest episode of her podcast as the former French tennis star admits not having a Plan B in her game was the main thing that prevented her from achieving her Grand Slam goals.
As a junior, Garcia posted multiple strong results since she made the US Open final and also reached at least the semifinal in the remaining three Grand Slams. That led to the Frenchwoman being widely regarded as one of the most promising and talented players of the game.
Now, at 32, Garcia is three months retired. During her pro career, the 32-year-old managed to achieve some notable results, like winning the 2022 WTA Finals and twice achieving a ranking of No. 4 in the world. But when it came to her Grand Slam results, she managed to make the semifinal only once - it happened at the 2022 US Open.
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If you can recall, Garcia was compared to Maria Sharapova when she first arrived on the WTA Tour. And while the 2022 WTA Finals champion was an aggressive type of player like Sharapova, she never achieved the success that the Russian achieved.
Garcia: I played very aggressively, risky... I had only one way of playing and it cost me
I should have added in my game more of an Option B because most of the time with my game, it was very risky. There were, I think, a lot of matches that I lost that I could have been able to win if I had been taught to be like, Ok, today I have to put [the ball] in," the former world No. 4 said on the Tennis Insider Club.
When Garcia was feeling her game, she was one of the most dangerous players and had the ability to beat any player. But when her game was off, it looked rough at times.
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My dad wanted me to be aggressive, do winners, but there are some days when either I was not feeling it or I was too stressed, and I was not able to do it. I didnt know how to put it in, that maybe putting it in is good enough, and tomorrow I could step on court again and go back to my way. It was only one way for me to play, and it didnt open me to another way. It was like, I dont know how to do the rest," the 32-year-old added.
Garcia lost to Kamila Rakhimova in her last pro match in this year's US Open first round.
