Professional tennis may look glamorous and fun with lots of travel and playing a game for a living. But it is much harder than that. Caroline Garcia and Juan Martin del Potro recently took to social media to share the hardships they have experienced with the game.
As a disclaimer, naysayers may accuse the two of whining or living a privileged life, but reading and thinking about their stories may change their minds.
Caroline Garcia’s 2025 Tennis Goal Is About Finding Joy
Caroline Garcia, 31, has openly talked about the mental toll of the game. Like other tennis players, she has been bullied and criticized on social media by fans and gamblers, and it has taken its toll. She shut down her season in late September seeking a reset.
Garcia explained that she is reshaping her view of her tennis career. It will no longer be the quest for grand slams, results, and rankings. While those things are wonderful, Garcia wants to focus on her love of the game and how tennis shapes her humanity.
She said: “The focus is no longer on the destination, but on embracing the journey, with all its challenges and beauty. Winning has to be the outcome, not the goal. I want to do it not for the trophies, not for the rankings or for my environment’s expectations or dreams, but for the person I’ll become through the process…When this chapter ends, I want to look back and know that I succeeded—not just as an athlete, but as a human being. That I faced every difficulty, every self-doubt, and forged my own path. That I left behind the unbearable weight of expectations and found my way forward with courage and purpose.”
Juan Martin del Potro Shares Tennis’s Physical Toll
One of the most beloved players on the ATP Tour, Juan Martin del Potro, 36, lives in constant pain. He cannot run or climb a ladder. Del Potro takes multiple pills a day to combat pain and anxiety. His tennis career was left unfinished after a knee injury sidelined him from the game since 2019.
Del Potro is an Olympic medalist, Grand Slam, and Davis Cup champion. Those accomplishments are amazing but came at a huge physical cost that is prematurely aging him.
🇦🇷😢 Juan Martín del Potro says he suffers pain daily, and hasn’t ran for years:
“I haven’t run since I was 31, I can’t climb a ladder, I can’t kick a ball, I never played tennis properly again.
Do I live 15 more years of my life like this so that, at 50, they put the… pic.twitter.com/gezhtpwXso
— Olly 🎾🇬🇧 (@Olly_Tennis_) November 25, 2024
This serves as a reminder that professional athletes are human and deal with life’s difficulties like the rest of us. Be kind to them and everyone especially online when people only learn and understand part of a person’s life.
