"I couldn't even breathe": Caroline Garcia left in tears discussing mental health battle and range of emotions during Australian Open defeat

World No. 17 Caroline Garcia suffered a painful defeat in the second round against world No. 69 Magdalena Frech, losing 4-6, 6-7, just two days after overcoming 2-times Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka in the first round. The French player spoke about her mental health upon leaving Melbourne, revealing that she "couldn't breathe" while playing against Frech.

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The 30-year-old athlete publicly addressed issues of anxiety, stress, and bulimia in a recent interview. Through tears, Garcia spoke to French media, explaining that she has been grappling with anxiety for a significant period:

“In this match, I couldn’t even breathe,” Garcia said while in tears to French media. “How can I find the solution on my serve if I can’t even breathe — the simplest thing in the world? It’s only the second round of the Australian Open. Why am I in such a state? I do not know.

“But for a certain period of time, it’s been like this and I can’t get over it. And in fact, it eats me up. Sometimes I say to myself, ‘but why am I doing this?' If we could understand and manage emotions overnight, there would be no stressed person left on earth.

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Garcia opens up on social media:

Prior to the match against Osaka, Garcia shared a message on social media, saying, "Sometimes there is a lot going on. Sometimes I'm really struggling with my emotions. On court, I'm not always having a great time lately."

“We are trying to, yeah, work on it. Sometimes it's overwhelming. Definitely to be playing first round Naomi, coming back, great, great player, playing very late match, I was overwhelmed and I was scared to step out there. Sometimes it is good to let emotion out, yeah, embrace it. Then you try the best you can,” she concluded.

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Piękne zwycięstwo Magdaleny Fręch❗ 🤩 Skrót meczu z Caroline Garcią w 2. rundzie #AusOpen 👇

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