WTA Finals Champion Caroline Garcia says she has struggled with bulimia but is now managing the disorder better.
The world No.4 has opened up about her battle with the eating disorder for the first time during an interview with the French newspaper L’Equipe. Bulimia is a condition where a person eats excessive amounts of food during a short period of time and then make themselves sick, use laxatives or do excessive exercise, or a combination of these, to try to stop themselves gaining weight.
Garcia said she developed the disorder during what was a turbulent time on the Tour. After breaking into the top five back in 2017, the Frenchwoman didn’t contest a Tour final for three years between June 2019 and June 2022. During that period she dropped out of the world’s top 70. Garcia said her eating disorder began after enduring “tears and sleepless nights.”
“Everyone is different. Some will stop eating and for me it was the opposite: I used to take refuge in food,” Reuters quotes Garcia as telling L’Equipe.
“You feel so empty, so sad, that you need to fill yourself. It came from the distress of not managing to do what I wanted to do on court, of not winning anymore, of suffering physically.
“Eating would appease me for a few minutes. We all know it does not last but it was an escape route. When you’re alone, it’s harder to control. In tennis, you spend a lot of time alone in your room. It’s how it often happened.”
The 29-year-old says she is now managing her disorder better after opening up to others about her struggles. She is not the first tennis player to speak out about having an eating disorder. Italy’s Martina Trevisan has battled anorexia and Monica Seles previously said she struggled with binge eating.
“You start understanding and realising that if it happens, it’s not the end of the world,” she said. “Since I’ve been taking time for myself, it happens less.
“And when it happens, I accept it better and feel less guilty. Allowing myself some regular indulgences helps me avoid having too many of these cravings.
“I was too tough on myself at some point. I’m the type of person who weigh themselves to the gram.
“Now, if I’ve been wanting pizza for two days, I’m going to have the pizza.”
Garcia returned to her best form during the second half of 2022 where she won three Tour tournaments on different surfaces prior to winning the biggest title of her career at the WTA Finals. She also reached the semi-finals of the US Open in what was her best-ever result at a Grand Slam.
Garcia started her 2023 season at the United Cup with straight sets wins over Nadia Podoroska and Petra Martić.
