Garcia's final Roland-Garros singles campaign ends against Pera

A Paris farewell with competition still ahead

Caroline Garcia's final Roland-Garros singles campaign ended on 26 May 2025 with a 6-4, 6-4 first-round defeat to Bernarda Pera on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. The French player had announced three days earlier that 2025 would be her last season. Her appearance in Paris therefore carried a clear sense of farewell, although it was not the last professional match of her career.

That distinction mattered to the immediate schedule. Garcia still intended to play doubles at Roland-Garros with compatriot Diane Parry and had further tournaments remaining. The singles defeat closed her chance to make one last run in the home major's individual draw. It did not turn the day into a complete withdrawal from tennis or erase the matches she still planned to contest.

Pera finishes an emotional first round

Pera, ranked No.83, secured both sets by the same margin and stopped a Garcia recovery in the second. The Frenchwoman entered the match carrying the emotions of a decision she had considered before making it public. Roland-Garros reporting described an emotional entrance through the tunnel and a vocal home crowd during the contest.

The winner also acknowledged the unusual setting when she addressed the spectators after the match. Pera's tribute to Garcia reflected the personal weight of sharing the court at the French player's final Paris singles appearance. Yet the draw still required a winner, and Pera was the player who earned the place in the second round. The result preserved the competitive stakes within the farewell rather than making the score incidental to it.

A relationship with Roland-Garros across two disciplines

Garcia first drew wide attention at Roland-Garros in 2011, when, as a 17-year-old wild card ranked No.188, she challenged Maria Sharapova in the second round. Her best singles finish in Paris eventually came in 2017, when she reached the quarterfinals. Those appearances formed part of a career in which she rose to No.4 in singles.

Her most substantial Roland-Garros victories came in doubles. With Kristina Mladenovic, she won the women's doubles title in 2016 and again in 2022. The two trophies made her connection to the event more than a series of near-misses in singles. Garcia's final-season announcement was therefore also the departure of a former home champion, even though her attempt to win the singles title had never reached the same conclusion.

A final season after a distinctive career

The Frenchwoman's leading individual results extended well beyond Paris. In 2022, she reached the US Open semifinals and won the WTA Finals in Fort Worth. Her career had also included a central place in France's 2019 team championship victory, alongside success in singles and doubles on the tour.

In explaining her decision before Roland-Garros, Garcia described being ready for a new chapter after many years devoted to the sport. On court after the Pera match, she thanked the spectators and reflected on the memories created at her home event. Those comments established what this particular defeat meant: a final singles exit from Roland-Garros, with further competition still to come during the season.

Pera advanced while Garcia moved toward her remaining doubles commitments. The outcome marked the end of one long-running sporting relationship in the singles draw, with the Paris titles and the 2017 quarterfinal remaining the strongest results in that record.