The Australian Open marks his return. After three months away from competition due to mental exhaustion, Caroline Garcia returned to the courts in Melbourne without a specific objective. Two days before the start of the tournament, the French number 1 (58th in the WTA) returned, Friday January 10, at a press conference, to these months of break, which gave her renewed “freshness” et “the desire” ofe play. If she asked herself the question of stopping her career, because she “couldn’t stand anything anymore”, she specifies that she has not yet decided anything at the moment.
You are returning to Melbourne. Have these last three months of break done you any good? How do you approach this new season and this return to competition?
Caroline Garcia: It’s been a while since I last played a tournament. Obviously, I’m a little stressed. Anyway, even if I play every week, I still arrive stressed (smile). It doesn’t change much in that regard, but I try to have clear goals and expectations. Obviously, as I wasn’t seeded, I could play almost anyone. Play Naomi [Osaka au premier tour, ex-numéro 1 mondiale]I don’t know if it’s a good or bad painting. But this promises to be a good match.
“On the courts and in training, I prepared everything well. Now I am ready to come back.”
Caroline Garcia, 58th player in the worldat a press conference
I will probably feel some emotions. But in any case, if I took a break, it was to come back with freshness and want to play this kind of match, because these are the meetings which give you the most emotions and which are fun to play.
Have you prepared for this moment when you will enter the course, and say to yourself “that’s it, I’m a tennis player again, I’m starting again”. What do you feel? Apprehension? Excitement?
There’s a bit of both. To be honestI’m sometimes a little apprehensive about how it’s going to go because, obviously, my last experiences on the court haven’t been incredible. The person who follows me psychologically asked me to do visualization to project myself.
“There will definitely be emotions, but that doesn’t mean it will be bad if there are any. I just have to be willing to accept them, and take my time a little more.”
Caroline Garcia, 58th WTA playerat a press conference
There were training sessions with some emotions that came through, and I still survived (smile).
What do you get out of this break, whether on a personal or tennis level?
I learned a lot from it. It is already important to take breaks. We should think about it a little more and do it more often. After these complicated times in recent years, having had more time [pour moi] and not being in the “rush”, allowed me to refresh my ideas, to rethink things more deeply, to come back with energy, desire, motivation, and to have goals clear. This break also allowed me to continue working on who I am off the court, to not just be a tennis player and to discover other things [en dehors du tennis]this is the most important for me.
Can you tell us about your preparation in Dubai, how did it go?
Alright. I left around December 10. Many top 100 players are in Dubai at this time, which allowed me to play with them. Then, I did an exhibition in Abu Dhabi, which put me back in the “vibe”, in the rhythm of the circuit. There were still quite a few top players there, so it was interesting to be able to start these first training rounds. Today I feel good.
You have chosen to return to Melbourne. Was this choice obvious?
Yes, the choice was pretty clear to come back for the Australian Open. At one point I thought about the United Cup, which is a really enjoyable tournament to play. But it was much too early [du 27 décembre au 5 janvier]so I quickly eliminated it.
More broadly about the season, what does this Australian Open represent for you? QWhat do you expect in terms of results or feelings?
In terms of results, I don’t want to project myself. Afterwards, I am already very happy to return to the competition and to have a great first round to play. On a technical level, in training, everything is going well overall. Obviously, there are ups and downs. But pAs the days pass, the more I feel comfortable and the more I adapt, particularly in terms of my reactivity, because it happens very quickly. Here, classes go at 10,000 an hour, so you have to be quick. But I feel better and better. Let’s say that I also want to take it as a first step. It’s not after this tournament that I’m going to make an important decision or that I’m going to change everything.
Naomi Osaka will be your opponent in the first round. A year ago, you also faced each other at the start of the tournament [Garcia avait gagné]. How do you imagine this match?
It’s quite funny because I’ve never played it too much. And there, in one year, it will be the fourth time (smile) [cinquième confrontation, dont la troisième à l’Open d’Australie]. But these are matches that I want to play. Obviously, the challenge is perhaps a little higher than playing against someone who is lower ranked or who has less experience. But at the same time, these are matches where you learn a lot. I’m straight into the mix.
