Alize Cornet has career ended after her 69th consecutive appearance at a Grand Slam tournament, which happened to be the French Open.
The Frenchwoman was no match for Australian Open runner-up from China, Zheng Qinwen, on Court Philippe Chatrier in the first round, losing 6-2, 6-1.
Alize Cornet made her debut at Roland Garros in 2005 and has not missed a Grand Slam tournament since the 2006 US Open. The 34-year-old’s consecutive appearances in Grand Slam tournaments broke the previous women’s record of 62 appearances by Japan’s Ai Sugiyama.
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“Emotionally it wasn’t easy. Some days I’m really excited to retire and other days I’m really scared and unsure. So overall, I feel calm today about it, and I’m very happy with the decision.” said Cornet about his decision to retire after a career spanning 20 years.
Alize Cornet reached a career-high ranking of 11th in 2009 and surprisingly advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2022 Australian Open, beating Simona Halep on the way.
Her career will also be remembered for her three straight wins over Serena Williams in 2014 – including knocking the 23-time Grand Slam champion out of Wimbledon in the third round.
“The quarter-finals in Australia were a source of a lot of emotions,” he said on reaching the last eight at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time on his 63rd attempt.
“My win over Serena was powerful, intense and a source of incredible joy. But the quarterfinals, I’ve been chasing this quarterfinal for a long time, and also to win against Simona Halep with that kind of passion, it’s amazing. “I think I will remember it.”
Cornet ended his career on home soil with his 20th appearance at the French Open.
Alize Cornet had also been a ball girl at the tournament as a child, including for matches featuring former world number one Amelie Mauresmo, who is now director of the tournament which honored her on Tuesday.
“It was really fun,” she said of her experience as a ball girl. “It was the first experience where I was close to the players. When I look back now, Amelie Mauresmo handed me the final trophy of my career, and she was always there. I think about all the journey behind me.”
Cornet’s only previous meeting with Zheng was when he retired injured in their third round clash in Paris two years ago, when he trailed 6-0, 3-0. He admitted he was afraid he would go out on a bad note when he came back 4-0 down in the first set.
“I don’t want to end my career with such a bad defeat. But then when I had my first match, I managed to get back on track. Well, I still lost. “It doesn’t mean I won by any means, but it’s better than 6-0, 6-0,” concluded Alize Cornet.
