A day of cheering and relax before her second-round match at the Miami Open against world number 2 Iga Swiatek, after defeating Hungary’s Anna Bondar 6-0, 7-6 in her opening match. French tennis player Caroline Garcia, former world number 4 and doubles world number 2, arrived on Thursday morning at the motorola razr Miami Premier Padel P1, right on time to watch her friend and former doubles partner Alix Collombon (in the photo, with Lea Godallier) on court with Araceli Martinez, taking on the strong Ale Salazar and Veronica Virseda.
It was a special day for the 31-year-old, who, after her first-round win at the Masters, was eager to be at the Miami Beach Convention Center. “Alix is my friend, we’ve known each other since we were 10 years old”, says Caroline, a semifinalist at the 2022 US Open, WTA Finals winner the same year, and a two-time French Open doubles champion. “We used to play tennis together, so it’s nice to be here and support her. And who knows, maybe tomorrow she’ll be the one cheering for me against Iga Swiatek. That would be great”, she smiles, sitting next to her fiancé, Borja Duran.
Aside from cheering for Collombon, Caroline also enjoys trying her hand at padel: “I play it in my free time when I can, and I really enjoy it. My fiancé and I are also about to launch a podcast dedicated to padel, after doing one on tennis. It’s called ‘Padel Inside the Club’”. Caroline then explains what draws her to the sport: “The best thing about it is that it’s a very social sport. Unlike tennis, for example, people can play together. It’s always doubles, so you have a lot of fun. It’s a sport that’s growing exponentially in many countries, and it’ll be interesting to see how it evolves”. While tennis is her profession, Caroline will continue to nurture her passion for padel: “I’ll definitely keep playing padel for fun, it’s a relaxing activity for me. And I’ll keep cheering for Alix, enjoying the beauty of this sport”.