Two-time doubles French Open champion Caroline Garcia suffered a difficult first-round loss in the 2024 US Open which led her to receive hateful comments from people on social media. The star shared some of them, which included death threats garnering support from fellow players such as Paula Badosa and Jessica Pegula.
“These are some of the messages I received lately after losing some matches. Just a few of them. There’s hundreds. And now, being 30 years old, although it still hurts, because at the end of the day, I’m just a normal girl working really hard and trying my best, I have tools and have done work to protect myself from this hate. But still, this is not ok,” she wrote on X.
Garcia, whose best singles Grand Slam result came when she reached the US Open semi-finals in 2022, was beaten by Mexican player Renata Zarazua in two straight sets, 6-1 and 6-4.
Badosa and Pegula, who won their respective matches, responded to Garcia’s post. “Yep. The constant death threats and family threats are normal now. Win or lose,” Pegula wrote. Meanwhile, the Spaniard replied with a hand-clapping emoji.
Garcia shares her concern for younger players
Some of the messages Garcia shared included “a clown below to the circus,” or, even, “I hope your mom dies soon.” She has been open about personal struggles in the past, including her battle with bulimia.
In her post, the French star also shared her worry about younger players “that have to go through this,” and who can be “affected” by the hate: “We are humans. And sometimes, when we receive these messages we are already emotionally destroyed after a tough loss. And they can be damaging. Many before me have raised the subject. And still, no progress has been made,” she added.