Former world number four Caroline Garcia ended her season early and plans to put her downtime to good use.
Last month, Garcia announced that she was stepping back from the WTA for the rest of 2024 amid struggles with her mental and physical health.
Garcia announced she was heading back to schoolX
In a statement posted on social media, Garcia wrote: “Physically, I’ve been pushing my shoulder to its limit, trying to recover while competing, and it’s just not working. I need more time off to heal properly.
“Mentally, I need a reset. I need to step away from the constant grind of tennis.
“This year, my mindset was toxic. I lost touch with the joy of being a tennis player and became obsessed with rankings and wins.
“I’m exhausted from the anxiety, the panic attacks, the tears before matches. Tired of missing out on family moments and never having a place to truly call home.
“I’m tired of living in a world where my worth is measured by last week’s results, my ranking, or my unforced errors.”
Garcia lost in the first round of the US Open, but a run to the semi-finals of Guadalajara in September boosted her rankings back up to 29 in the world.
It was the first time she had won back-to-back matches since April, but despite the improvement she still announced that step away.
Now, she has revealed what she will be doing with her down time.
“I made it to Harvard Business School,” she wrote on X. “So grateful for this opportunity to join such a special university!
“I can’t wait to keep learning new things and meet amazing people from different fields. “Thank you WTA and Anita Elberse for this opportunity. No better way to use my off-season.”
Garcia ended her season early amid physical and mental strugglesGetty
The 30-year-old is a winner of the WTA Tour finals in 2022 and a two-time Grand Slam doubles champion.
Following her defeat at the US Open, she called out the damaging abuse tennis players receive on social media.
“Maybe you can think that it doesn’t hurt us,” wrote Garcia. “But it does. We are humans.
“And sometimes, when we receive these messages we are already emotionally destroyed after a tough loss. And they can be damaging.
“Many before me have raised the subject. And still, no progress has been made.”
