"As we say, if you don't move forward, you move backward" - Caroline Garcia on her comeback 2022 season ending with WTA Finals title
Starting her season as the World No. 74, Caroline Garcia played some extraordinary tennis throughout the year and was rewarded with the most prestigious title of her career so far — the WTA Finals.
The Frenchwoman beat Aryna Sabalenka 7-6(4), 6-4 in one hour and 41 minutes in the summit clash of the year-end championships, taking her singles title tally to 11. It was her fourth title of the year and she will end the season as the fourth-ranked player. This was only the second time since 2017 that Garcia qualified for the event. A series of injuries kept her away from glory for five years.
Playing at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, the two players held their serves throughout the first set. A couple of double faults by Sabalenka in the tiebreak handed over a one-set lead to Garcia, who broke early in the second and eventually closed out the match.
Speaking on a program on the Tennis Channel after her match, the 29-year-old spoke about her challenges and revealed her mindset for constantly improving.
"I think it's super important to keep improving. As we say, if you don't move forward, you move backward. That's not something we want to do in the team. Obviously, today was a very solid match. There were a few mistakes here and there but not so many negative points. You always want to challenge yourself first in this sport and then you have another challenge against the others," Garcia said.
She further stated that although she and her team were focused on their plans, they never expected the season to end on such a high note.
"I think this year was so many lessons, so many experiences. It started okay, I got some wins here and there but couldn't manage to back them up. But I had my team behind me and we were really focused on how we wanted to play and it wasn't paying off for some time. But they told me that if I kept going in that way, it will pay off one day. We didn't think it was going to pay that much but I definitely liked it," she added.
"It's a lot of giant happiness" - Caroline Garcia after winning WTA Finals
In a press conference after winning the 2022 WTA Finals, Caroline Garcia expressed her jubilation at returning to a career-high No. 4 ranking after four years. Extremely satisfied with her performance, the Frenchwoman stated that remaining calm was her biggest strength during the title clash against Aryna Sabalenka.
“It’s definitely a lot of giant happiness,” Caroline Garcia said. “A crazy final, a lot of intensity on every point. Just really proud of the work we did through all the year. It was a great match. I really went for it. I’m really happy to win my biggest title. Today one of the most important things was to stay calm and jump on every opportunity.”