Caroline Garcia was awarded the Medal of Honour by the city of Lyon, where she grew up and resides until this day.
The French player was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France, but soon after her birth, her family moved to Lyon, where Garcia grew up and also started playing tennis.
A few years later, she became a successful tennis player, and now, the Frenchwoman was recognized by the city, receiving a Lyon Medal of Honour for her contributions to the sport.
A spectacular second half of the 2022 season saw Caroline Garcia advance to and win the WTA Finals. She did not have a good start to the season, and for a player whose tennis talent was never in question, it appeared to be another season lost.
Midway through the season, something happened that caused her to start winning matches and multiple trophies.
She won in Warsaw, where she beat iga Swiatek in the final, and she also triumphed at the Cincinnati Masters. Garcia then outperformed everyone to win the WTA Finals in Forth Worth, which was the peak of her career.
A month after the win, Garcia was awarded the Medal of Honour of the city of Lyon by its mayor, Gregory Doucet, who shared some moments from the ceremony.
"Very proud to give you the medal of honor of the City of Lyon dear Caroline Garcia. The excellence of your game and your perseverance make you a wonderful ambassador for Lyon sport. Keep writing your legend and making us dream."
Without a doubt, Garcia is representing her city really well, having won 47 matches in 2022, while losing only 22 times, and lifting four trophies along the way, at least one on each surface.
Now, the French player will want to follow up on her success in 2023, but that will be a real challenge, given that she struggled in the previous three seasons.