PARIS (AP) — Retired French tennis player Caroline Garcia has rejected a $270,000 sponsorship deal for her podcast from a betting company, saying she chooses values over money.

Garcia, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 4, retired earlier this year. She has stayed connected with the sport through the Tennis Insider Club podcast she created with her husband Borja Duran.

“It wasn’t an easy “no,” especially right after retiring from tennis,” the 32-year-old Garcia said on her social networks. “But we want to build a platform where players feel completely safe to be honest, vulnerable and open about anything, without pressure or distraction.”

Garcia did not identify the company that offered the deal.

Last year at the U.S. Open, Garcia drew attention to the persistent problem of cyberbullying in tennis — particularly from people who bet on matches — after her first-round loss at the Grand Slam tournament.

“Over the past two years of interviewing players, coaches, agents and parents, one theme keeps coming back again and again: betting has become one of the biggest sources of pressure, abuse and hate in modern sport,” she said in her latest post. “I do not want Tennis Insider Club to contribute, even indirectly, to a system that fuels addiction, destroys lives and turns athletes into daily targets.”

Garcia won 11 WTA titles and captured the WTA Finals crown in 2022, the same year she reached the U.S. Open semifinals. She also won the French Open doubles title in 2016.

Her path hasn’t always been smooth. Injuries, pressure and a break from the sport in 2022 tested her resolve. That same year she revealed she had struggled with eating disorders, triggered by the physical pain of a foot injury and the emotional toll of the tour.

“Our mission is to tell real stories from inside tennis, inspire people and grow the sport in a way that is healthy for athletes and fans,” Garcia added. “Taking betting money would move us in the opposite direction.”

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis