"The more the match went on, the better I felt," says Garcia after her win against Kartal in Cincinnati

For her first match since her singles farewell at Roland-Garros in late May, Caroline Garcia, invited by the Cincinnati tournament organizers, overcame Sonay Kartal (5-7, 6-4, 6-3 in 2h36).

The Frenchwoman, who will retire after the US Open, is at least extending her enjoyment in Ohio—she won this tournament in 2022 against Petra Kvitova. In the next round, Garcia will face Karolina Muchova. Before taking on the Czech player, the 31-year-old reflected on her victory against the Brit.

"The goal is to arrive at the US Open with as much rhythm and familiarity as possible. I was pleasantly surprised to receive a wildcard here, which wasn’t guaranteed. I was able to train well with many players and regain my rhythm.

I won a match, I’ll get to play another—it’s all positive. Since Miami, I’ve only played one match at Roland-Garros, but it feels good to see that with work, everything is coming back together. It’s encouraging.

Physically, I’ve struggled a lot these past months and lost a lot of the intensity I could bring to my game, especially on serve. It’s a crucial weapon for me, and without it, I’m a different player.

I’m trying to rebuild that and keep everything in perspective. Because while I obviously want to perform well in Cincinnati, the most important thing is to be ready for the US Open. It’s true that as the match progressed, I felt better. I felt like the ball was coming off well.

The biggest satisfaction is that my back is fine. My shoulder is still a bit troublesome. It’s a tennis player’s problem. When it hurts, you can’t use it. And when you haven’t used it in a while, it’s rusty.

But overall, it’s okay. I’m not serving as well as I’d like, but it’s manageable. When you’ve relied so much on your serve throughout your career, you always want more," Garcia told *L'Équipe*.