“The good moment for me to say goodbye to tennis” – Alizé Cornet will retire after Roland-Garros

It’s nearly the end of a great adventure for Alizé Cornet and French tennis. The Niçoise announced this Saturday, in an interview with Canal +, that she was going to end her career after Roland-Garros, which will take place from Sunday May 26 to Sunday June 9, 2024.

The 34-year-old ironwoman of women’s tennis will therefore put an end to a very successful career, filled with titles and prestigious successes. Alizé Cornet notably reached 11th place in the world, the best ranking of her career, in 2009.

Cornet will play her 69th consecutive Grand Slam main draw at Roland-Garros – a streak that started at the 2007 Australian Open and is the longest in the history of women’s tennis.

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“I have a very special announcement to make to you. I will play my last Roland-Garros in a month and I will retire immediately. It’s the right time because it’s the result of a long journey… I just feel like it’s time. I don’t want to be pushed out, I want to choose. And it’s the right time for me to say goodbye to tennis.”

The Frenchwoman has won six titles on the WTA circuit, in Budapest, Bad Gastein, Strasbourg, Katowice, Hobart and the last in Gstaad in 2018. She reached the biggest final of her career on the clay court of Rome in 2008, match lost to Jelena Jankovic (6-2, 6-2).

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In 2019, she won the Fed Cup with Les Bleues by beating Australia at home (3-2). The triumph marked the third time in its history that the French team won this team competition, now called the Billie Jean King Cup.

Alizé Cornet also achieved success on the WTA circuit during her career. She beat Serena Williams three times, when the American was world number one, in Dubai, Wimbledon and Wuhan. In 2022, also at Wimbledon, she achieved the feat of dominating Iga Swiatek, world number one, and snapped the Pole’s career-best streak of 37 consecutive victories.

At the Grand Slams, Cornet has only played one quarter-final, at the Australian Open in 2022, where she set the record by reaching her maiden major quarter-final in her 63rd Grand Slam main draw appearance.

The Frenchwoman has at least reached the round of 16 at each of the four Grand Slams.

After Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2022, Cornet’s departure represents another monument of French tennis which will bow out at Roland-Garros.