Garcia on her Australian Open meltdown against Frech: “I couldn’t even breathe”

Carolina Garcia struggled to figure out her emotions following a straight-set loss to Magdalena Frech at the Australian Open on Wednesday.

Caroline Garcia, US Open 2022 | © AI / Reuters / Panoramic

Ricky Dimon

January 18, 2024

On Monday, Caroline Garcia was sky high after beating four-time Grand Slam champion and former world No 1 Naomi Osaka. Two days later, Garcia crashed back down to earth with a straight-set loss to world No 69 Magdalena Frech.

Such is the fickle nature of tennis.

Her 6-4, 7-6 (2) loss came a little bit out of nowhere, too. Not only had Garcia just defeated Osaka, but she had also compiled a 3-1 record at the United Cup — while also taking a set off top-ranked Iga Swiatek. She had managed her emotions extremely well both throughout the season-opening team competition and against Osaka in the opening round.

Against Frech, however, Garcia fell back into some bad mental habits that have plagued her at various stages during her up-and-down career on the pro tour. The 30-year-old was suddenly and completely overwhelmed in the face of a far less prestigious opponent compared to Osaka. Mentally, Garcia could not figure out how to give herself an upper hand that she should have had against a lower-ranked foe.

She finished with 38 unforced errors in just two sets — more than twice as many as Frech’s 16.

With some exceptions (such as her performance against Osaka), the Frenchwoman has been unable to withstand the pressure that came with great expectations early in her career and when the hype surrounding her potential returned with a semi-final run at the 2022 US Open. She admitted as much during an interview with L’Equipe and RMC following her loss to Frech.

IT’S ONLY THE SECOND ROUND OF THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN. WHY AM I IN SUCH A STATE?
Caroline Garcia

“In this match, I couldn’t even breathe,” Garcia said in the midst of tears. “How can I find the solution on my serve if I can’t even breathe — the simplest thing in the world? It’s only the second round of the Australian Open. Why am I in such a state? I do not know. But for a certain period of time, it’s been like this and I can’t get over it. And in fact, it eats me up. Sometimes I say to myself, ‘but why am I doing this?'”

It was a poignant observation from the Frenchwoman, who — now in her 30s — speaks openly about her apparent growing difficulty in managing her emotions. She is constantly working to solve such issues, but at the same time she realizes that it is hard for everyone.

“If we could understand and manage emotions overnight,” Garcia concluded, “there would be no stressed person left on earth.”