Lost in the haze of the tennis offseason and the exhibitions was a significant decision made by recently retired tennis star Caroline Garcia. Despite ending her playing career at the end of 2025, Garcia is planning to continue her Tennis Insider Club podcast. That podcast frequently hosts players who share their insights about sports and life.
Garcia took to social media earlier this week to explain that she made a conscious decision to turn down a $270,000 sponsorship opportunity from a betting company for her podcast.
What Caroline Garcia Said
Garcia admitted that sum of money would be beneficial to the podcast, but it would come at the expense of her integrity and the trust of the players who join her on it.
This Is Why We Turned Down $270,000
Today we turned down a $270,000 sponsorship offer from a betting company for our podcast.
It’s a huge amount of money, especially for an independent sports show and for me, someone who just retired from pro tennis.
But here is why we said no.… pic.twitter.com/yIGSM0vufs— Caroline Garcia (@CaroGarcia) December 7, 2025
During her playing career, she was among the most vocal about how negative social media affected her mental health. Garcia shared how these “fans,” most likely bettors who lost money on her matches, said horrible and cruel things to her from the anonymity and safety of their devices.
This are some of the messages I received lately after loosing some matches. Just a few of them. There’s hundreds. And now, being 30 years old, although they still hurt, because at the end of the day, I’m just a normal girl working really hard and trying my best, I have tools and… pic.twitter.com/q4djrfLfx9
— Caroline Garcia (@CaroGarcia) August 28, 2024
Garcia was not alone in dealing with this type of backlash. Linda Noskova has shared hateful posts she received after a loss.
Linda Noskova shares a barrage of hateful messages she received after her loss to Ashlyn Krueger in Abu Dhabi.
These messages are downright pathetic.
This is so not okay. pic.twitter.com/2jxCO1qvlt
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) February 7, 2025
The Growing Problem Of Sports Gambling
Tennis is not the only sport dealing with this. Every professional sport has a problem, and sports media outlets who tend to cast judgement on players getting entangled in betting controversies also have major sponsorship deals.
There is a blurred line between all of these entities so it is refreshing to see Garcia make this decision. Hopefully, it is the beginning of an epidemic in sports media.
