FORT WORTH, Texas — Caroline Garcia wasn’t exactly bursting with confidence when she touched down in Texas ahead of the WTA Finals. But 10 days later, the 29-year-old Frenchwoman had her arms wrapped around the WTA Finals trophy after putting on a serving clinic to hold off Aryna Sabalenka 7-6(4), 6-4 to win the biggest title of her career.
The week was a microcosm of Garcia’s campaign. The Frenchwoman underlined how quickly fortunes can change in a week.
Now ranked No.4, she was outside the Top 70 six months ago. But Garcia went on a tear and won more matches than any other player since the start of June. She won four titles and reached her first major semifinal, at the US Open.
Considering all she has accomplished, Garcia is still aware she’s been here before — enjoying a career-best season only to struggle with the follow-up.
This time, Garcia says her maturity and clarity she gained in the five years since her initial breakthrough leave her prepared for what’s to come in 2023.
WTA Insider: You won eight of your last 10 matches against Top 10 players, with those two losses coming to No.1 Swiatek and No.2 Jabeur. Before that, you had just one Top 10 win since 2018. What does that turnaround mean to you?
Garcia: I think the Cincinnati tournaments proved to me that I was able to play and beat the best players in the world and do it day after day. It looks like the tournaments in a week suit me better than the Slams for now, so I need to make some adjustments. But it’s a great experience and the week in Cincinnati really helped me get some confidence in my fitness, my level of tennis, my game style.
To go all the way at the WTA Finals you have to play to win four to five matches against the Top 8 players in the world. It’s a good experience for now and for later.
WTA Insider: Sitting here after winning the biggest title of your career, is the WTA Finals title the most meaningful moment of your season? Or were there others?
WTA Insider: It’s difficult to pick because at the key moments everything means so much. To win Bad Homburg meant a lot. Trust me, it meant a lot. I was…