Newly retired Caroline Garcia claims a betting company made a $270k sponsorship offer to her podcast, but she turned it down because she didn't want to associate The Tennis Insider Club with gambling in any form because she believes it has done a lot of harm to tennis players.
Garcia, who played the last tournament of her career at this year's US Open, launched a tennis podcast with her husband Borja Duran in 2024. Since then, the Frenchwoman has hosted numerous well-known names on her podcast.
For many years now, players have complained about receiving social media abuse after losses. In most cases, the abuse comes from bettors, who often insult and even send threats to players after losing their money. The players have been advised to ignore such messages or report them if they believe their safety could be in danger - and while usually it only stays on verbal abuse - numerous players have openly admitted that they have a hard time reading what certain people write to them after matches.
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And after witnessing first-hand how it feels to be insulted by a bettor, Garcia explained in length why she didn't want to collaborate with a betting company.
Garcia: I don't want my podcast to contribute, even indirectly, to a system that fuels addictions and makes athletes a target
"Over the past two years of interviewing players, coaches, agents, and parents, one theme keeps coming back again and again:
betting has become one of the biggest sources of pressure, abuse, and hate in modern sport," the 2022 US Open semifinalist wrote on X.
"Every player, from Top 10 stars to ITF grinders, has stories. DMs full of insults after a match. People demanding money back because they lost a bet. Even death threats. Not because of sport. Because of gambling. I do not want Tennis Insider Club to contribute, even indirectly, to a system that fuels addiction, destroys lives, and turns athletes into daily targets."
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Garcia acknowledged that the sponsorship offer she received was a hefty one, but added that she would wait for another opportunity.
"$270k is a lot. But building something long term, honest, and good for the sport is worth more," former world No. 4 Garcia added.
