Caroline Garcia has opened up about her wild ride in 2022, going public about her battle with bulimia and how she was liberated as a player after treatment for a persistent foot injury.
The Frenchwoman, 29, was one of the standout WTA players in the second half of the year, reaching the US Open semi-finals and emerging victorious at the season-ending WTA Finals to charge to the world’s top five.
In a heartfelt message on social media not long after Garcia topped a field including top seeds Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur at the season-ending finals in Texas, Garcia said she went through “all kind[s] of emotions” last year.
Caroline Garcia in action during the United Cup in Perth.Credit:Getty Images
“I cried from pain, sadness and joy in 11 months,” she tweeted. “But I learned so much about myself as a player and a person.”
The seeds for Garcia’s rejuvenation and new-found happiness in tennis came during her injury lay-off in April and a brief period where she effectively had to learn to walk again.
There was initial worry, when Garcia, a seasoned tour player and winner of 11 singles titles, first discarded the crutches after two weeks with them.
“When I took them off the walking was very strange,” she told The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.
“When I started to walk again I would not say I panicked but I texted my physio, I was like ‘I don’t know how to walk anymore!’
“And, she’s like ‘don’t worry, it’s going to be fine’. And then the next morning she saw me coming and she’s like ‘yeah, that’s pretty bad actually’.
Caroline Garcia has opened up about the battles she’s faced on and off the court.Credit:Getty Images
“It [took] two or three days [to fix], not very long. But it was a good experience a good lesson.”
But the greatest relief for Garcia, who has equalled her career-high world No.4 ranking first achieved in 2018, was coming to terms with the effect of an eating disorder, partly caused by the ongoing pressure of professional tennis.
“Several times I was invaded by doubts, [and] let myself be overwhelmed by the negative,” she tweeted.
“I questioned the universe, told myself that maybe my luck had passed, that I would never succeed again.
“I’ve had sleepless nights, binge-eating, cried in my hotel room, cried on tennis courts ….
“I suffered physically and mentally.”
Garcia elaborated to this masthead about her sometimes “tough relationship” with food.
“I think in life everyone at some point is going through some things,” she said before this week’s WTA 500 event in Adelaide.
“Or a little bit unhappy or unhealthy …. and you have to find your own solution.
“At one point in my career I was not reaching the goals I wanted. I was less happy playing tennis because I was not winning matches. I was feeling pain in my body and feeling kind of alone, even if I was never really alone,” she said.
“Sometimes you just feel alone in your body and you need something to fill you up. I went through over-food [over eating] and sometimes it was not very healthy. It was a tough relationship sometimes.”
Garcia said she had learned from the occasional slip-up or, at least, was able to find perspective.
“I learned to let go, I learned to accept my mistakes, the unexpected, to delegate, to trust myself, to follow my instincts, than [that] I can eat a pizza from time to time, it was not going to change the result of the next day,” she tweeted.
“If I was dying to eat one ‘that was good too’.”
Upon arriving in Australia, Garcia explains how, moving forward, her battle with binge-eating is “much better”.
“But some days are a little bit more challenging,” she said.
“But I am more aware of it. I talked about it. And I try to fight it with different options.
“Sometimes you went through that when you’re more alone in your room … so when there is bad time you try to avoid [that – being alone].
“[I try] to be with my team and to be with my friend[s], and that’s already helped me.
“If one day it’s happening [a recurrence], it’s happening [and don’t let it bother you]
“It was just one night, one time. And just have to find your rhythm again.”
When the rollercoaster ride that was 2022 came to an end, Garcia was somewhat caught off guard by her rankings surge, from world No.75 in June to her current equal career-best slot.
Far from learning the act of walking again, Garcia is racing ahead.
“I didn’t really see myself as top 10, or top five player,” she said.
“Because [I] won everything so fast. I needed some time to kind of realise it, even if not realising is not such a big deal either.
“It’s good to be back at the top but it doesn’t change who I am, or the way I play, and I think that is what is the most important.”
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