Caroline Garcia had an outstanding career as a tennis player. The Frenchwoman, born in 1993, was number 4 in the rankings in 2018, won eleven titles and was a semi-finalist at the US Open 2022. It was precisely in Flushing Meadows that she decided to play her last match last August. Since then, she has channeled her energy as a communicator and runs the podcast Tennis Insider Clubwhere he invites his former travel companions for detailed discussions.
In the last few hours, the former player made headlines with an unusual decision in these times. Garcia said he turned down an eye-catching sponsorship offer from a betting shop and explained why. “Today we turned down a $270,000 sponsorship offer from a betting company for our podcast. That’s a lot of money, especially for an independent sports show and for me, someone who just retired from professional tennis. But here’s why we said no,” Garcia began.
He continued: “In the last two years of interviewing players, coaches, agents and parents, one theme has emerged again and again. Betting has become one of the biggest sources of pressure, abuse and hate in modern sport. Every player, from the top 10 stars to the top players in the ITF, has stories. Direct messages full of insults after a game. People demanding their money back because they lost a bet. Even death threats. Not because of the sport. Because of the game. No. I want you.” Tennis Insider Club Contribute, even indirectly, to a system that fuels addiction, destroys lives and turns athletes into daily targets.”
He continued: “Betting companies spend millions on sponsorship because it works. It diverts attention. It shapes behavior. It normalizes the game. But we don’t want our community to be pushed in that direction to support people and grow the sport in a way that is healthy for both athletes and fans. Gambling money would take us in the opposite direction. And if we expect athletes to trust us enough to be vulnerable on the podcast and share their fears, doubts and mental health issues, then we need to show them that we put values above money.”
Garcia, who worked with Argentine coaches (Juan Pablo Guzmán and Emiliano Redondi), recognized that $270,000 is a lot of money, but preferred a different route. “It is worth more to build something long-term, honest and good for the sport. We will find partners who believe in this vision, who want to grow with us and not take advantage of the pressure that the athletes are already exposed to,” said the former European tennis player.
Match fixing and betting have been a serious problem in the tennis world for years. Of course, paradoxically, many tournaments and associations have betting shops as sponsors, but active players are not allowed to advertise on the field. Garcia’s post was viewed millions of times and received positive responses from racket-related accounts.
Garcia made his professional debut on the ITF circuit in France in 2007 at the age of 13. She played her first WTA qualifying tournament at the Paris Indoors in 2010, and made her debut in the main draw of the WTA Tour in Australia in 2011 as a wildcard. This year, while still a junior, she finished second at the US Open. She won 11 WTA singles titles and reached 16 finals. On September 10, 2018, he reached number 4 in the ranking, the highest position of his career. In 2022 she won the WTA 1000 in Cincinnati and the most important title of her career was the Masters tournament, the WTA Finals in Fort Worth, where she defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
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