Au revoir, Alize--you will be missed

 

photo by Daniel Ward

The first time I saw Alize Cornet play, many years ago in Charleston, I was taken with her energy, her playing style, and her skillful shot-making. I was also taken with her graceful leaping, as she brought the athletic spirit of Suzanne Lenglen onto the court. I have followed her career ever since, and--while I don't think that there's any such thing as an over-achiever--I believe that Cornet has to be one of the most interesting under-achievers on the tour.

photo by Diane Elayne Dees

The Frenchwoman, known for her dramatics on court, has a wealth of talent, and--on a given day--could beat just about anyone (she ended Iga Swiatek's 37-match win streak in 2022). But, as tennis fans know all too well, that kind of talent doesn't always translate into an elite career. In Cornet's case, however, it did translate into a very impressive and deeply satisfying career.

The 34-year-old Frenchwoman won six singles titles and three doubles titles (she won both singles and doubles titles in Strasbourg), was a member of the Billie Jean King Cup French team from 2008-2017, an in 2019, and was a member of the French Olympic team in 2008, 2012 and 2016. She also had 25 top 10 wins in her career, and reached a career high of number 11 in the world in singles. Cornet, who played her debut match at a major when she was a 15-year-old wild card, has appeared in 69 consecutive major main draws, an all-time record.

In 2021, Cornet wrote a diary/memoir, Transcendence: Diary of a Tennis Addict (original French title, Sans Compromis). The book is touching, colorful, filled with inside information, and--at times--very funny. I highly recommend it. Cornet then wrote a novel, La Valse des Jours, which has not been translated into English. Inspired by her mother's childhood, La Valse des Jours is based in sixties and seventies France. This year, she published a second novel, Ce qui manque a l'amour, also available in French only.

When I spoke with Cornet in 2022, she said that she plans to continue writing, and that she would like to be France's Billie Jean King Cup captain. 

Talking about her retirement, Cornet said:

"I'd like to be remembered as a genuine player who shared all her emotions with everyone all throughout her career with a fighting spirit. Someone who is a passionate tennis player, who likes to fight and who could die for it. 

"I think I showed it several times, that it was actually my type of character. People may love me or not for that type of personality, actually, but this is what brought me here."

Her message to her younger self, she said, would be:  "I would just say stay as you are and be yourself. Don't fight to be perfect, because you will never be perfect, and you will waste a lot of energy doing so. Be genuine. Be loyal and truthful, and people will accept you as you are or not."

Cornet lost her 2024 French Open first round match to up-and-coming player Zheng Qinwen. She was then presented a retirement gift by tournament director Amelie Mauresmo, for whom she had once been a ballgirl, and to whom she lost in the second round in her French Open debut. Highlights of Cornet's caeer were shown on a big screen, and Cornet then gave a moving speech to the many fans who had come to watch her play.

I fully expect Cornet to continue her writing career (here's hoping for more English translations), and to also participate, in some way, in the tennis world. There will never be another like her. As she said in her farewell speech on Court Philippe-Chatrier, she gave her all. And her all was more than enough.