Caroline Garcia had already had a truly remarkable 2022 season regardless of whether she won the WTA Finals or not.
But the 29-year-old Frenchwomen made her comeback campaign even better as she won the title in Forth Worth, the biggest one of her challenging career to date.
After showing much promise at a young age, Garcia’s career had been derailed by injuries that saw her fall in the WTA rankings.
But her WTA finals success capped off an amazing career turnaround, one that should be admired for her will and determination.
Read on below as SBOTOP takes a look back on WTA Finals champion Caroline Garcia’s astounding comeback season, culminating in the title at the season-ending tournament.
A slow start to the season
Caroline Garcia entered the 2022 season down at No. 74 in the WTA rankings, her lowest ranking since 2014. It was a far cry from her career-best ranking from 2018, when she went as high as No. 4 in the world.
Back in 2011, Andy Murray tweeted that a then-18-year-old Caroline Garcia was going to become world No 1, which showed just how much potential she had.
Injuries took their toll on the 29-year-old, though, which led to her gradual decline over the last few years. Even in March of this year, Garcia took time off to recover from a foot injury that she had been dealing with.
Indeed, Garcia’s season did not go well as she lost in the first round of the Australian Open to a young American qualifier, as well as in Dubai. She was able to reach the semi-finals in Lyon but was finally forced to take a break after a couple more early exits.
Garcia again looked well out of form upon returning from her break as she made early exits at Roland Garros and in the first few grass-court tournaments.
The turning point finally comes
But things finally began to click for Garcia in June at the Bad Homburg Open as she came from nowhere to win the title, her first singles crown since 2019.
Garcia’s form steadily improved following that win. She won again, this time on clay at the BNP Paribas Poland Open, and at the hard courts of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.
A semi-final run at the US Open – her best-ever performance in a Grand Slam – saw her jump into the top 10 in the world for the first time since 2018.
That was enough to see her qualify for the WTA Finals, which seemed like an impossibility just a few months ago.
Garcia has got a booming serve and will actually finish the year as the WTA’s ace leader with 394. And she pairs that with a new hyper-aggressive playing style that has helped her turn her form around.
WTA Finals triumph
In the WTA Finals, Garcia was grouped with World No 1 Iga Swiatek, as well as Coco Gauff and Daria Kasatkina.
After a straight sets win over Gauff, Garcia lost to Swiatek, which made her last round-robin match against Kasatkina a win-or-go-home situation.
And Garcia in fact came so close to going home as Kasatkina was just two points from losing in the third set. But she rallied to force a tiebreak, which she won as she prevailed, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (5).
What made that comeback win even more impressive was the fact that Kasatkina had been a perfect 28-0 this year after winning the first set.
Garcia moved on to the semi-finals, where she continued her impressive run of WTA Finals 2022 results as she made short work of Maria Sakkari, 6-3, 6-2. And in the final, she defeated Aryna Sabalenka, who defied the WTA 2022 odds as she defeated Swiatek in the other semi.
With her win, Garcia rises back to No. 4 in the WTA rankings, which ties her highest-ever ranking. She also became the first Frenchwoman to win the WTA Finals since Amelie Mauresmo in 2005.
Garcia’s victory is a fitting end to what has been a remarkable single-season turnaround. After years of looking as if she would never return to the heights she reached in her youth, the Frenchwoman found a way to make it back. And if she can remain healthy – which has been a big if for her in her career – there is no telling how much higher Garcia can go next season.
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