Now that she’s retired, Caroline García has taken time to reflect on her 14-year tennis career and to speak openly discuss what she believes has stopped her from reaching the ultimate milestone: a Grand Slam title.
The French star shared and admitted a deep insight into both her playing style and her coaching system the lack of a “Plan B” kept her from advancing in the biggest tournaments. While her bold, aggressive play brought her much success, including a WTA Finals title and a career-high ranking of No. 4, Garcia believes a more adaptable approach could have changed everything.
One game plan can work in many matches, but some situations require switching up a bit, and Garcia feels like she was never told how to adapt in that way. Speaking of itself Tennis Insider Club podcastthe 32-year-old, whose best Grand Slam result was the 2022 US Open semi-final, captured the missing piece of the puzzle in her game:
“It’s sometimes very unclear what it means to win a Slam. You don’t really know what you have to do to achieve it. I should have added more of an option B in my game.”
Garcia explained that her style was mainly risky and aggressivean approach her father strongly encouraged. However, she now realizes that there were times when a different strategy was needed to ensure victory, and she never learned how to make that adjustment.
“My father wanted me to be aggressive and to be winners“But there were days where I liked it, I didn’t feel it, I was too stressed and I couldn’t do it,” Garcia said. “It was just one way for me to play, it didn’t open me up to another way. I was like, you don’t know how to do the rest.
She admitted that no one ever taught her how to adapt when things weren’t working:
“Well, maybe I can learn it if I spend time on it maybe I’ll only use it for five games a yearbut maybe those five matches a year will allow me to go one step further in the Slams. So I guess I missed that. Learning an option B, but also having someone tell me how to do option B.”
Garcia retired from professional tennis at the 2025 US Open, concluding her career with a first-round loss to Kamilla Rakhimova, 6-4 4-6 6-3.
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