“Don’t leave us”: Paula Badosa, Danielle Collins, & others send emotional messages to Caroline Garcia after she retires from tennis at US Open

Belinda Bencic, Paula Badosa, Danielle Collins, and others penned heartfelt notes for Caroline Garcia as the French player retired from professional tennis after her first-round loss at the 2025 US Open. Garcia lost to Kamilla Rakhimova and later received a farewell in front of a packed USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Garcia forged a successful career in tennis and boasts two Grand Slam doubles titles, won at the 2016 and 2022 French Open. The 2022 WTA Finals champion peaked at No. 4 in singles and No. 2 in doubles and continued to show her prowess until 2023, but she drew an early end to her season last year after a final appearance at the Adelaide Open.

In May 2025, the 31-year-old announced that she would cap her career this year after a couple of tournaments. She ultimately hung up her racket after losing her first-round match at the New York major.

Trending

Several players penned heartfelt notes for Caroline Garcia as wished her the best for the days ahead. Paula Badosa, the 2024 US Open quarterfinalist, shared a story of the French player and wrote:

"Caro. Don't leave us! Your energy will be very nissed! Congratulations on an amazing career! Great player but better person! Wish you nothing but the best. Graande amiga."

Danielle Collins, the four-time singles titlist, echoed the sentiments and penned:

"Congratulations on an incredible career @carogarcia. Your achievement throughout your entire career is something so special. Who you are as a person and as friend is even more special."

Belinda Bencic also joined forces to wish Garcia more success in her next phase of life. She wrote:

"And another one ill miss a lot! Congratulations @carogarcia .. Time to enjoy life to the fullest now."

Romanian player Sorana Cirstea expressed gratitude for all the sweet memories Garcia gifted her over the years, writing:

"Congratulations @carogarcia for a wonderful career and thank you for all the great memories. I hope you will enjoy life to the fullest now."

Petra Kvitova also retired from competitive tennis alongside Garcia.

Caroline Garcia called out the act of glorifying players who play through pain

Caroline Garcia had an injury-marred season this year, having withdrawn from the Madrid Open and the Rouen Open. She returned to the clay court in Roland Garros but exited in the opening round. In May this year, the 31-year-old addressed the issue of players being expected to play through the pain to make it an honorable act.

"If you really cared, you’d play through the pain.” Someone said this to me a few weeks ago after I explained I wasn't ready to compete. This isn't an attack on any individual, but rather a reflection on a mindset athletes are conditioned into from a young age: playing injured is somehow honorable or necessary," she said.

She then explained how she has been on anti-inflammatory medications and dismissed the idea of players pushing their limits to the extreme.

Caroline Garcia co-hosts the Tennis Insider Club podcast with her fiancé, Borja Duran. Despite retirement, they are both actively associated with the sport.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback

About the author

Agnijeeta Majumder

Agnijeeta is a US Olympics journalist at Sportskeeda. She holds a Master’s degree in English and has worked as a school teacher, a blogger, a content writer and a sports writer over the past 5 years. A lover of high-adrenaline track and field events, she was also a sprinter during her school days.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone happens to be her favorite Olympian, and the athlete’s feat of breaking four records within 13 months inspires her, apart from the American's body language on and off the track. Grant Hackett swimming with a partially dysfunctional lung and winning gold in Athens is her all-time favorite Olympic moment.

Agnijeeta believes that deriving of unique angles from podcasts and interviews carried out by Olympics.com, along with hype-building of potential Olympic events on social media can help fill the coverage gap during the off season.

When not at her work desk, Agnijeeta likes to sing and paint. She also plays string instruments like guitar and ukulele and is an avid player of word puzzles.

Know More