Monday, August 25, 2025

Caroline Garcia retires from professional tennis

Caroline Garcia retired from professional tennis today. She played the final match of her career at the U.S. Open, and lost in the first round to Kamilla Rakhimova. The 31-year-old Garcia had a strong career in both singles and doubles, which is--these days--a hard-to-come-by achievement. The French star's highest career ranking in singles was number 4 in the world, and her highest career ranking in doubles was world number 2. She won eleven singles titles and eight doubles titles. In 2022, Garcia won the WTA Finals in singles.

Garcia began her professional career in 2011, following a successful junior career. In addition to her regular tour schedule, Garcia was a member of the French Fed Cup (now Billie Jean King Cup) team for seven straight years, and she was a key member of the championship team in 2019. She won the French Open doubles title twice, in 2016 and 2022. Both times, Garcia's partner was Kiki Mladenovic.  

Garcia was on the French Olympic team in 2016. In both 2022 and 2023, she led the tour in number of aces served--394 and 462 respectively. Garcia's success came from her having a number of strengths--a good serve, excellent forehand, solid backhand, the net skills of an elite doubles player, and excellent footwork. 

Known for her signature "in flight" celebrations, Garcia's fans knew what it was to "fly with Caro," and for fourteen years, it was a wonderful journey. Or, as the Frenchwoman herself put it: "Tennis brought me so much. Some great emotions, some tough ones. It shaped me to become the person I am today. I grew a lot. Especially the last years.  I’m very at peace with my decision to say goodbye to tennis at competition level...."

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