Caroline Garcia is admittedly not a fan of the Madrid Open and several other WTA 1000 tournaments recently transitioning to a two-week duration.
The World No. 24 lost in the third round at the Caja Magica to the 12th-seed Jasmine Paolini on Sunday (April 28). Garcia never had a grip on the match as she went out to the Italian 3-6, 2-6. With this loss, she has now lost 11 of her 24 matches on the WTA Tour in 2024.
Perturbed by her lack of form at the WTA 1000 tournament in Madrid, Caroline Garcia took umbrage at the women's governing body. The 30-year-old claimed that since her opener at the event was scheduled several days prior in the previous week, she was not match-fit for her third-round encounter on Monday.
She also claimed that many of her peers were not happy with the Madrid Open expanding to two weeks' length this year, calling the change in the format 'frustrating'.
"In the week we've been here, we've only played two games. Everything goes very slowly," Caroline Garcia said (via Punto de Break). "You don't do much, you're waiting all the time... this format is a little frustrating. Maybe there are people who can identify with it, but I still haven't found anyone who does."
Currently, the only WTA 1000 tournaments that follow the traditional one-week duration are the Qatar Open, the Dubai Open, the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open (with the latter two events slated to transition into a two-week format in 2025).
The duration of the Madrid Open, the Italian Open and the China Open have already been expanded to two weeks, following the ATP's suit - which employs two-week formats at six of their nine Masters-level events.
Caroline Garcia in a race against time to improve results before home Major event at Roland Garros
Meanwhile, Caroline Garcia is a far cry from the player that she was nearly two years ago when she made her return to the WTA's top 4 rankings following her WTA Finals triumph. The Frenchwoman had previously been placed at a career-high No. 4 in 2018 as well.
While Garcia's 2023 season was respectable as she compiled a 40-26 win/loss record on the women's pro tour, she went 0-2 in her final appearances and fell to a year-end ranking of World No. 20.
The 30-year-old has struggled with her results this year, failing to go past the second round at the Australian Open, the Qatar Open, the Dubai Open and the BNP Paribas Open. While she did reach the quarterfinals at the Miami Open, she has yet to go past the last-eight stage of a tournament since last September at the Guadalajara Open.