Cornet "wanted to stop tennis a lot of times" (but she's there)

Alizé Cornet during the 2019 edition of the Roland-Garros tournament.

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She is an unshakeable landmark that accompanies us at each Roland-Garros draw.

Sometimes deep in the hole, sometimes euphoric.

Sometimes unbearable, sometimes overwhelming.

Alizé Cornet, who holds the record for successive grand slam appearances on the women's circuit at just 30 years old (54), the result of her incredible consistency at the highest level (she has been in the top 100 since 2007), took the time to write a book herself in the form of a diary of her career (

, published by Amphora).

It's written in a pretty personal style, with just the right amount of fantasy to immerse yourself in it without forcing it.

Interview.

🌟 September 9, 2020🌟

Today, another of my childhood dreams comes true.

I am so happy and proud to present my book "Without Compromise" now available in bookstores!

I wrote it with all my heart, hope you like it ❤✒📚 @ EditionsAmphora pic.twitter.com/4ZEwBgffxY

- Alize Cornet (@alizecornet) September 9, 2020

You are going to play your 16th Roland-Garros behind closed doors or almost.

Is there still a bit of excitement?

It will be different, for sure.

Usually, Roland, these are emotions that we anticipate.

Meeting the audience, playing in front of family and friends, which is very exciting and stressful at the same time.

We know that we will be watched by the whole of France.

It's really energy intensive, I know everyone, I can ten minutes on the right, ten minutes on the left, I can spend the day chatting!

There is nothing that can replace the happiness of playing Roland.

But you have to know how to manage, it's by far the grand slam during which I lose the most energy, and not necessarily on the court.

It will be easier this year on that front, at least.

Have you ever experienced a stronger feeling in Paris than in 2005, the year of your first participation?

I do not believe.

Oh, I was 15, what a baby!

I win my first lap at Roland, behind I play Amélie Mauresmo, I meet Andy Roddick of whom I was an absolute fan, I get interviewed by Nelson Monfort… I live the thing from the inside, I am a professional at Roland at 15 years !

In my memory, it remains the impression of having an immeasurable adrenaline rush.

Today, Roland, even if I approach it with a lot of enthusiasm and freshness, I am starting to get used to the trick.

2005 was unique.

Did you imagine you were still around fifteen years later?

I have never projected myself so far.

When we see how traumatic tennis is for the body, sometimes we say to ourselves "but in what state will I end up in ten years?"

".

The level has really increased, the girls are better and better prepared, they often travel with their physical trainer, which means that there is a super regular follow-up.

There were still a few UFOs ten years ago, but it's been a long time since I said to myself "What the hell is she doing with this classification this girl?"

".

And yet, even though I'm an oldie, if I may say so, I still have my place on this circuit.

How do you last so long in such a demanding environment?

We are already reducing the pace a bit.

I must have been training less for three or four years.

Before, I did two tennis training sessions a day and sometimes two physical sessions, now I take care of my body.

I can do a 4-hour session when I was easily 7 or 7:30 a.m. younger.

Sometimes I feel like my body is worn out, but when I see my matches, in terms of sheer physical ability, I still feel pretty damn good.

The physique has always been my strength, but to see that at 30 it still holds the house, it's gratifying.

My paper of the day for @le_Parisien ✍🗞 https://t.co/5CfZBO5noX

- Alize Cornet (@alizecornet) September 27, 2020

We never tire of hotels, travel, defeats?

I feel this weariness very regularly.

I don't talk about it more than that in the year because it's a constant state in fact.

I wanted to quit tennis a lot of times.

But I am so passionate about the sport that even if there is weariness, I don't dwell on it for long.

It's in my genes.

I can go to train on the day of a loss.

Tennis will always come first, and somewhere it's nice to have this self-sacrifice every week.

We are warriors.

Do we manage to enjoy the life of the circuit one day?

Yes, because I know more people.

It's like the general public, the players have known me for over fifteen years, I'm a familiar face to them too.

I am nice, I say hello, I think I am well liked by the girls.

At the US Open, it's been six months since I last saw my colleagues, it's simple, I spent my time talking to all the people I was happy to see again!

Relationships are often superficial on the tour, but there are still people who are friends, including opponents.

Is the atmosphere lighter than when you first started playing?

I feel that in the younger generations, yes, they are more open than at the time.

Afterwards, it's probably that I feel better with myself and that I took a step back.

When I landed, I was very ambitious.

The atmosphere has always been heavy for me in the locker room, no one said hello, we did not speak to each other, each one sat in her corner.

It has been moving in the right direction for a few years.

The atmosphere is lighter, there are conversations, there are laughter, young girls who want to enjoy their lives too.

Even in the surroundings.

We remember the tyrant fathers, but when I see Sofia Kenin and her father, who is her trainer, they seem to be really accomplices.

The circuit is healthier than before, there is a form of awareness to say "They are tennis players, but they are also women".

There is a softer psychological approach, I find.

You were 11th in the world at 19 and you have never made it through an 8th final in a grand slam.

Is this a regret for you?

You can always have regrets, but if I don't make a quarterfinal in my life, I won't make it a disease.

Those who have only gone to the quarterfinals want to go to the semi-finals, it never stops.

You have to be able to be happy about what you have accomplished.

Well, I'm telling you that, but I sometimes hurt myself by watching my two match points against Safina at the Australian Open for my first round of 16.

When I'm really at the bottom of the mine, I tell myself that I'm going to sink my head even more in the bucket by seeing this end of the game, there is no better way to demoralize!

But there are plenty of turning points in a career, and it might have gone less well at other times as well.

Which ones for example?

A career doesn't mean much.

Among the girls of my generation, I am the only one to have made it through while I am the only one to have refused to go to Paris to train at the CNE.

I was 12 and I didn't feel ready.

I could have been one of those hundreds of young girls or boys who are forced to give up their dreams because they don't have the money to continue.

But I was lucky one day to meet a patron who liked to see me play, and who offered my parents to finance my career, at the beginning.

He was an elderly man who loved to follow my results, have his name in

, and the little recognition that goes with it.

At the time, we tell ourselves it's weird, but without his help, would I have gone pro?

I am not sure.

What advice would you give to a player arriving on the tour today?

To know how to drive the point home.

I wouldn't change anything in my career, really, but looking back, I didn't do everything right when I was at the gates of the top 10. I was in a place to be there, it's still something.

I was playing well, I was confident, except that I let go for a few months.

I fell in love, I wanted to experience something else, the management was not ideal.

So if I had to give one piece of advice, it's this one: "Be careful, don't make the same mistake when everything is going well".

Wouldn't you tell him to have a little less character, though?

As I am very emotional, we either love or dislike who I am on the pitch.

But I want to say that these are two sides of the same coin.

On the one hand, I'm going to give my all, fight to the end and turn into an outstanding warrior, but on the other hand, I'm going to get angry, I'm going to shed three tears, because I want too much.

I have so much flame in me that sometimes it overflows.

Everyone has their own personality.

Have you thought about changing and not showing anything on the court sometimes?

Everyone complains that the circuit is too flat.

But as soon as we do something we fall on it!

At some point, people don't know what they want.

Last year, Medvedev made a name for himself at the US Open because he became hysterical, and the crowd began to whistle him.

If we want it to be a circuit where there is a little more going on in terms of emotions, we have to let the players express themselves and accept that the positions are positive or negative.

It's even harder for girls, we are constantly judged.

There are few sexist stereotypes on the tour but there are a few left.

A girl must be pretty, if possible, then nickel in her behavior… There is a year at Roland where I play in 8th against Caroline Garcia, during the Fed Cup stories.

People waited until we had a bun on the court.

That day I missed it but I didn't want to talk about myself about the attitude so I kept everything to myself, even if I know that exploding allows me to let go of the horses, then.

It was horrible to experience.

Do you ever think about the end, the last game?

Not yet.

There will come a time when I will no longer be able to go to the other side of the world and continue traveling.

It will play when it is time to stop.

When I feel that I have more to give, I will go, but I feel that I still have some under the sole.

After that, I don't see myself playing until 35, given the age when I started.

I do not see myself coming back after a child like others.

Just imagining all the physical implications of coming back from pregnancy, plus my gambling, is not how I see the end of my career.

The day I stop, tennis will have had its day.

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