Back on the circuit after almost four months of absence to recharge her batteries psychologically, Caroline Garcia (68th in the world) lost on Tuesday in the first round of the Australian Open against the Japanese Naomi Osaka (51st).
A year after beating the four-time Grand Slam winner at the same stage of the tournament, the Frenchwoman this time lost 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 against Osaka, whom she faced for the fourth time in a year .
Earlier in the day, Frenchwoman Léolia Jeanjean (149th) was eliminated as soon as she entered the fray, like her compatriots Diane Parry (66th) and Chloé Paquet (122nd) the day before.
The last French hope in the women’s table, Varvara Gracheva (69th) enters the fray on Tuesday against the American Caty McNally (540th).
On the Rod Laver Arena, the main court in Melbourne, Garcia played her first match since mid-September on the night of Monday to Tuesday and a defeat in the semi-finals of the WTA 500 in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Two weeks after her defeat, the winner of the WTA Finals in 2022, injured in the shoulder and mentally exhausted, decided to end her 2024 season.
“I need to take a break, get away from the constant routine of tennis (…) and allow myself to breathe without the pressure of performance”explained the 31-year-old player on social networks.
After her victory Monday evening in Melbourne, Osaka now leads 3-2 in her confrontations with Garcia and confirms her current good form, having reached the final of the Auckland tournament in early January. In New Zealand, however, abdominal pain forced her to give up after winning the first set against the Dane Clara Tauson (42nd).
Titled twice in Melbourne (2019 and 2021) and at the US Open (2018 and 2020), before also taking several breaks in her career to preserve herself psychologically and give birth to her first child, Osaka will face in the 2nd round the Czech Karolina Muchova (20th), who swept Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska (96th) 6-1, 6-1 on Monday.
