Caroline Garcia lost in straight sets to Iga Swiatek in an exhibition match on Monday in the United Arab Emirates.
A month and a half after her victory at the Fort Worth Masters and after a well-deserved vacation, Caroline Garcia resumed her racket in competition this Monday, to play an exhibition match as part of the World Tennis League, a mixed team event. which runs until Saturday in the United Arab Emirates. The French team up this week with Nick Kyrgios, Andreas Seppi, Bianca Andreescu and Rohan Bopanna, within the Eagles. She was opposed to world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, a member of the Kites, as were Félix Auger-Aliassime, Holger Rune and Eugénie Bouchard. And it was the Polish who won against the French, with a score of 6-3, 6-4 in 1h06. Already beaten in the group stage of the Masters by Swiatek (6-3, 6-2), Garcia did not manage to do much better. The 2022 aces record holder finished the match with 4 aces and 65% of first serves on the counter, but she lost her serve three times: 1-0 and 4-3 for the Pole in the first set and 1- 1 in the second. Even though the world No. 4 got a 4-4 ball in the second set, she did not convert it, and therefore must bow.
Badosa and Rybakina on Garcia’s schedule this week
On Wednesday, Caroline Garcia will have the opportunity to catch up by facing the Spaniard Paula Badosa, world No. 13, who has not shined much since her round of 16 at Wimbledon. The French won their only confrontation, in Mallorca in 2019. On Friday, it is the winner of Wimbledon, Elena Rybakina (21st), that Garcia will challenge. The Kazakh leads 2-0 against Lyonnaise, with victories at the US Open 2021 and St Petersburg in 2018. If the Eagles make it to the final, Garcia will play a new game on Saturday. Otherwise, she will go to Australia, where she must compete in the United Cup, the new mixed team competition of the ATP and the WTA. In Perth, France will face Croatia and Argentina in the group stage, and Garcia will team up with Alizé Cornet, Léolia Jeanjean, Jessika Ponchet, Arthur Rinderknech, Adrian Mannarino, Manuel Guinard and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.