Caroline Garcia is a player many had forgotten since her exit from the Top 10 in 2018. Now, she’s ending the 2022 season in red hot form and here are reasons she seems likely to become a Grand Slam champion in 2023.
Reaching a career-high singles ranking in 2018, Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia was always a force to be reckoned with on the WTA Tour. Unfortunately, she had a significant drop in the rankings and a loss of form in the following years. Garcia turned things around in 2022 after she took on a new coach in Bertrand Perret, seeing a drastic change in results towards the second half of the season. Wrapping up the year with two WTA titles and a record semifinals appearance at the US Open, Caroline Garcia has all the weapons of a Grand Slam champion come 2023.
Strong doubles results
Having won the French Open doubles in 2016 and again this year in 2022, Caroline Garcia certainly takes advantage of the home crowd. Doubles success always demands a high level of serving and volleying prowess, as points are typically short and fast-paced. Garcia is known for her strong first and second serves, a characteristic of her game that translates well into her singles career. Occasionally, her volleying prowess can also be seen in her singles matches, though she is more of an aggressive baseliner.
Bad Homburg and Poland Open titles
Caroline Garcia really started to re-enter the spotlight when she took down world No.1 Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinal at the Poland Open. Beating the top seed in her own home ground and then going on to win the finals for her ninth WTA title was nothing short of impressive. At 28 years old, Garcia was playing some of her best tennis as she ended Swiatek’s 18-match win streak on clay. This victory came just one month after winning the Bad Homburg Open in June, making it her second WTA title for the year and indicating her ability to succeed on different surfaces.
Cincinnati title
Perhaps her best result of the year, Caroline Garcia won her very first WTA 1000 event at the Cincinnati Open as a qualifier, becoming the first to do so since the tier was created in 2009. En route, she defeated three Top 10 players in Maria Sakkari, Jessica Pegula, and Aryna Sabalenka, making it her best streak of success in years. Furthermore, the 28-year-old skyrocketed through the rankings to re-enter the Top 20 at world No.17 as a result of winning the title. Garcia’s success at Cincinnati once again showed her incredible ability to adapt to different surfaces and gave her plenty of confidence moving into the US Open.
US Open semifinalist
In addition to winning her first WTA 1000 event, this year also marked Caroline Garcia’s first semi-final appearance at a Grand Slam tournament. Without dropping a set, Garcia raced through the opening rounds and took down Bianca Andreescu and Alison Riske-Amritraj to set up a meeting with Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals. Fighting against a crowd favorite and a higher-ranked player is never easy, but Garcia showed no signs of fear or pressure and took out the match in straight sets. She was halted by eventual runner-up Ons Jabeur in the semifinals, ending her run in what was not only her best US Open performance to date but the most successful Grand Slam showing of her career.
Impressive H2H with Top 10 players
If there’s anything that 2022 proved for Caroline Garcia, it’s that she has the ability to go the distance with the world’s top players in the WTA. In fact, the US Open semifinalist has an impressive head-to-head record with most players in the Top 10 including Iga Swiatek, Maria Sakkari, Jessica Pegula, and Aryna Sabalenka. The Frenchwoman is either equal or has the upper hand in each of the aforementioned rivalries, though seems to be unable to get a win over the crafty Ons Jabeur. Regardless, there is plenty of reason to get behind Caroline Garcia as the season draws to a close, and with plenty of career records being broken, it’s possible we will see her win a maiden Grand Slam singles title in 2023.
2023 WILL be Caroline’s breakthrough year. But she will reach top 4 or 3 before 2022 is over.
Although she had a disappointing match against Ons Jabeur at the US Open, I hope she can finish strong during the last part of 2022. I believe there is a good chance she will qualify for the WTA Finals this year to provide a springboard for a successful 2023.
Caroline Garcia made a fantastic season for sure. For sure I will be happy to see her with a title in the Grand Slam, but it is very hard to keep such high pace. Of course, her future is bright and she deserves to win a Grand Slam title.