After several inconsistent years marred by doubts and injuries, Garcia took a break from tennis in March to nurse her foot.<\/p>\n
READ MORE:<\/strong> Novak's classy move after Aus Open sharpener\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> Star 'out of control' in wild dummy spit<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> Roosters star suffers horror blow in training<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n The pause brought dividends as the Frenchwoman enjoyed a tremendous second half of the 2022 season with titles at the WTA Finals, Cincinnati, Bad Homburg and Warsaw to go with her semi-final appearance at the US Open.<\/p>\n Before that successful stretch Garcia said \u201cthere have been many tears, many sleepless nights".<\/p>\n Garcia, who first reached the No.4 spot in September 2018, said she took refuge in food to compensate for the unease created by pain and defeat.<\/p>\n \u201cYou feel so empty, so sad, that you need to fill yourself up,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was the distress of not being able to do what I wanted to do on the court, not winning and suffering physically. Eating soothed me for a few minutes. We all know it doesn\u2019t last but … it was an escape. It\u2019s uncontrollable.\u201d<\/p>\n Garcia said being alone in her hotel room while on the tour made things more difficult to handle.<\/p>\n Speaking about her problems with family and friends helped her improve her relationship with food.<\/p>\n \u201cSince I\u2019ve been enjoying everything around tennis a little more and taking more time for myself, it happens less,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd when it does happen I accept it more and feel much less guilty about it.<\/p>\n "Allowing myself small pleasures on a more regular basis prevents me from having that craving for something too often.<\/p>\n "At one point, I didn\u2019t allow myself much. It became too much.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, if I have a craving for pizza for two days, I\u2019ll just have my pizza and stop obsessing about it.<\/p>\n "I had a hard time accepting the fact that it wasn\u2019t going to transform my body.<\/p>\n "I allow myself a little dessert every now and then instead of just thinking about it all week and eventually breaking down completely.\u201d<\/p>\n In November, Garcia became the second player from France to win the season-ending WTA Finals after Amelie Mauresmo in 2005.<\/p>\n She is expected to compete at the Australian Open, the first major tournament of the season beginning on January 16 at Melbourne Park.<\/p>\n She said in an interview last month with the WTA website that winning a grand slam title was a big goal of 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing healthy first, but winning a slam is probably one of my goals and dreams since I was a little girl, and with the last couple of results, with the WTA Finals, with the semi-final at the US Open, made it obviously more concrete and something I can reach, something I can achieve."<\/p>\n Anyone needing support with eating disorders or body image issues should contact: Butterfly National Helpline on 1800 33 4673 (1800 ED HOPE) or<\/em> support@butterfly.org.au<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n
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