Au revoir, Alize Cornet

A full circle moment. 

“Roland Garros represents 20 years of my life,” Cornet told the media before the tournament. “It was my first Grand Slam tournament when I was 15, and it will be my 20th this year. This is where I wanted to say farewell to professional tennis. I am glad to have reached that point in my life where I can say goodbye in front of my fans and my family.”

To say it has been a wild ride would be an understatement. To say Cornet didn’t live up to the expectations she set for herself as a precocious teen – also a girls’ singles champion at Roland-Garros – would be presumptuous. 

On Tuesday, 19 years – and 20 Roland-Garros main draw appearances – after it all began, the Niçoise ended her career holding the record for the most consecutive Grand Slam appearances in women’s tennis history. 

She fell to China’s Zheng Qinwen, 6-2, 6-1, and was feted after the match, a stadium full of supporters showering her with well-deserved applause.

The true iron woman 

Former world No.11 Cornet was 17 when she played the 2007 Australian Open. Improbably, she never missed another Grand Slam main draw, and amassed several heart-stopping victories at the majors along the way. Among them: a shocking upset over then-world No.1 Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2014, and a dominant performance against world No.1 Iga Swiatek, also at Wimbledon in 2022, which snapped the Pole’s career-best 37-match winning streak. 

Cornet was a picture of resilience as well. In 2022 she reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final at the Australian Open, shattering the record for most main draw appearances at the majors before reaching a quarter-final for the first time (63). 

“After 16 years on the tour, I never give up,” Cornet said afterwards.

Two years later, the curtains have come down on Cornet’s career – with three books (one autobiography and two works of fiction) already published, her life after tennis is sure to be as successful as the one she lived with great emotion on the court. 

As an author, she’ll likely remain in the public eye, but Cornet will surely be grateful not to have to live raw and sometimes painful moments with live television cameras focused on her. 

“I would say that the public can give you so much but also can make you feel alone, because as a French player, you want to make them proud,” she said. “You want to perform. When you can't make it, it's difficult, because you feel that you're disappointing.

“It's not only me. Other French players have that feeling, as well. Everything is very intense. But it's also good, in a way.”

Never one to shy away from the pressure, Cornet won eight of 12 deciding sets at Roland-Garros, and earned 21 victories at Porte d’Auteuil. She reached the round of 16 twice here, in 2015 and 2017.

But it is her record of 69 consecutive Grand Slam main draws played that will stand the test of time. The consistency and professionalism required to maintain such a streak for what has amounted to half of her life is a testament to her steel. 

Cornet broke Ai Sugiyama’s long-standing record of 62 consecutive Grand Slam main draws played at the 2022 US Open, defeating defending champion Emma Raducanu in her first-round match to celebrate the achievement in style. 

“It’s amazing for me to celebrate this record by winning in Armstrong, in the night session against the defending champ," Cornet said at the time. "I mean, it's like the stars are aligned, you know? It's such a special moment for me."

A career – and list of achievements – well woven for a woman who was defined not necessarily by wins, losses or ranking, but by the emotions she poured into her tennis, the panache with which she played and the incredible sacrifices that she made in order to compete at her highest level for two decades. 

Her secret to such incredible longevity? 

“I just try to enjoy every slam like it was the last,” she told Rolandgarros.com in 2020. “I think that's the secret.” 

Inspiring words to live by for tennis’ generation next.