How Caroline Garcia balances tennis and everyday life | Hilton | My 9 Things

Caroline Garcia: Tennis challenges and adventure What do I like about playing tennis? It's a great challenge, you know. You have to push yourself to keep improving through your career. On top of it, you have a challenge with the opponent. And then there is some great title to go get ... or try to get at least. And it's a great adventure. Tour Alexandra Barcelona Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton Hello, it's Caroline Garcia. We are here at the Alexandra Barcelona Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton. We are here to unpack my nine things. But first, let me give you a tour. So we are in Barcelona. Traveling is nice, but when you have to do it also for work from January to November, it's more tricky because we don't really have time to go outside of all that especially in competition where we are unsure of our schedule. So we have to be able to feel very comfortable in our hotel room. And I really feel comfortable staying with Hilton all around the world. For me, it's very important. And, you know, we have seen many, many hotels through our life. And it's important to be home because sometimes it's heavy on you. Yeah. So my racket, it's traveling with me for all the years, Tennis racket and even sometimes we may have some time with my boyfriend in the off-season or some days to play some tennis so it's always there. I've been playing with it since 2017. It was with me for my biggest title in my career. So, obviously it's a very important item for a tennis player. Sleep mask So my next item is my sleep mask. We always have some nice rooms. I'm quite picky with the fact that I need a very dark room and to really have my eyes covered to get some good sleep. And obviously with travel, jet lag, time difference and different schedules of matches, sleep is very, very important. Balancing tennis and relaxation I mean, it's very important to be able to find a good balance between tennis or the practice or the stress with the competition. And also refresh your mind, just have a nice rest in your room or go for a walk outside or (spending) time with my partner is also very important and really helps me to feel sometimes like a normal human being, and not only a tennis player. We recently got engaged. So we are celebrating with the family, announcing it and, it's a lot of very positive emotion. And yeah, it's starting the preparation as well. We are traveling a lot. Sometimes we have a chance to discover a little bit (of the) city, sometimes not, but at least to feel a little bit (of the) atmosphere. Book Next item. I always travel with a book. It's very important for me in the travel time, in the plane, in the train, and cars, and also before sleeping I like to read a couple of pages. It helps me to calm down. And obviously in tennis, we have a lot of waiting time, during the day of matches, because of the rain, because of the weather, because tennis is a a very unpredictable scoreline. So it can last for three hours. And, you have to be patient and I'm a very active person, so I always need to do something. And a book always comes very handy. Here in the hotel, they have a very good garden terrace. I really like to go there and enjoy my book and have some time with my partner. Notebook Up next, what do we have? My notebook. So inside, I have some pictures that are important with me, with my family, with my partner. That was for my birthday. And, (this one is) with my parents. That's our amazing trip to Antarctica. And also I like to write a couple of stuff from my matches. So either before or after a match to help me with my tactics, with what I want to do on court, how I want to show up, or after matches, maybe I've learned some things about my match, and I want to remind (myself). I feel that in a couple of years, you know, I will always have them with me and I can go back to my tennis career when it will be over. Sometimes I like to try to disconnect from phone and smartphone and this notebook comes very handy in that case. Podcast mic Now we have the podcast mic. A couple months ago, we launched a podcast named Tennis Insider Club with my partner. So we are both a big fan of podcasts. And, in the end of last year in China, we were talking about how tough tennis was when you are on the inside and not only from the outside. And I wanted to be able to share a lot more of what was happening behind the scenes. And now we are traveling with our little suitcase, with our two mics, our computers and asking for players to do podcasts with us. And for me, it's a great adventure. I'm learning a lot in that journey. Building something else, outside of just being a tennis player and, obviously I'm learning a lot because many players have different points of view on the same kind of problematics. It helps us to uncover a little bit of tennis. Computer So obviously, a computer comes very handy for the podcast, obviously, but also to manage all the travel we have, booking flights, booking my Hilton hotels, and also watching some movies. Stay connected with, with everyone. It's a very common object now, but very, very helpful. Portable speaker Also very helpful, very common: a speaker. Because, you know, we need some very positive energy sometimes, some days are not as easy on the court. And, it's good to either prepare for the match or go back to the room with a nice atmosphere. And music is always very helpful on the brain and on the body, and it's a very convenient size. You know, I can bring it anywhere with me. You know, at the gym downstairs. Have a light workout after (playing) tennis, and, enjoy the the sauna and everything. It's super convenient and I can share it with my team for all of us to have a good workout. Travel steamer So, traveling means a lot of wrinkles on the clothes. We bought a little steamer, which is very useful. It’s super convenient, super quick. It helps me to fix my match outfit or my outfit for dinner time. It's done, you know, and you can go out and enjoy the city. Hoodie Alongside our Tennis Insider podcast, we (made) some merch, and we are having a lot of fun doing it. And we like to travel with our hoodies, to get comfortable, feeling like home once again and, yeah, it's part of my new adventure, you know, to keep building my identity as a woman. We are creating some new stuff, new memories, I'm super, super proud and super happy of our little merch, and these hoodies make me very happy. Time for dinner Thanks for helping me unpack my nine things. It was a pleasure. I hope you had fun. Now it's my time to get ready for dinner. I have my reservation waiting for me downstairs and I hope to see you soon somewhere in the world!