Trainer Bertrand Perret said it was «fantastic» to work with Caroline Garcia, but admitted it took some time to convince the Frenchwoman to lower her perfectionism and accept mistakes. With the help of coach Perret, Garcia was able to rediscover her best tennis and start playing great again after struggling with her game in recent years.
Then, just before the start of the WTA Finals, Garcia and Perret parted ways. Garcia’s separation from the coach who helped her rediscover her best game came as a shock to many.
Perret reflects on his time with Garcia, but doesn’t reveal why they split
“It was a long journey, she is such a perfectionist girl.
She is very professional, it was great to work with her, but maybe she is too much of a perfectionist. She did not accept making mistakes. With her risky game, if you don’t accept making mistakes, you get frustrated.
You don’t have a type of game that is similar to (Sara) Sorribes Tormo or (Simona) Halep, you have a type of game where you take a lot of risks. If she wanted to get better in practice and not get frustrated in games, Caroline needed to accept making mistakes.
It wasn’t easy at first, I really had a hard time making him understand that because he’s such a perfectionist. I’m happy, now she sees things relatively a bit more. In a match, she is fine even when there are some mistakes,” Perret told L’Equipe.
Garcia’s split with Perret didn’t affect her at the WTA Finals, as she ended up winning it all at the prestigious season-ending tournament. Reflecting on Garcia’s win at the WTA Finals, Perret said he wasn’t surprised because he feels the Frenchwoman «has no limits» when she plays and feels her game.
