Tennis Insider Club with Caro Garcia · Caroline Garcia & Borja Duran

E4 - Alizé Cornet

·1 hr 8 min·5 clips

Alizé Cornet announces her retirement from tennis, choosing to end her career at Roland-Garros after 20 years.

This episode features French tennis player Alizé Cornet in a candid conversation with hosts Caroline Garcia and Borja Duran about her decision to retire. Cornet, a veteran with 20 consecutive Roland-Garros appearances, explains she will retire after the 2024 tournament to conclude her career at home. She details a long, fluctuating decision-making process that began seriously in 2022. Cornet reveals she initially planned to retire after the 2022 season, a year where she played some of her best tennis, including reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals and beating world number one Iga Świątek at Wimbledon. She describes a specific memory from the 2022 Australian Open, walking to the court against Garbiñe Muguruza with a feeling of gratitude because she believed it was her last time. The adrenaline from that "last season" mindset faded in 2023, leading to less successful results and a return of fatigue, which solidified her current retirement plan. She admits the current mental rollercoaster involves alternating between doubt about life after tennis and excitement for retirement. Cornet discusses her identity beyond tennis, highlighting her work as a novelist who has published two books in French. She explains that writing served as an escape and a comforting hobby that was portable on tour, helping her cope with losses by providing another world to inhabit. Her journey into tennis started at age five, inspired by her older brother, and she turned professional at 15 with a first-round win at Roland-Garros against Amélie Mauresmo. She reached a career-high ranking of 11 at age 19 but then faced a difficult period where her ranking dropped, leading to intense self-comparison with peers like Caroline Wozniacki and Petra Kvitová. Cornet shares that she experienced depression between ages 19 and 22, a time when she lacked the mental tools to cope, and says her mother repeatedly suggested she quit tennis. A significant turning point was moving from her home in the south of France to train in Paris at age 24, a sacrifice that helped her return to the top 20 and feel she had "earned" her success. She credits author Jonathan Lehmann with helping her, around age 28, to separate her self-worth from her tennis results through philosophical discussions. Cornet states that her primary career goal became feeling better mentally, believing happiness outweighs trophies. She notes that her fighting spirit, a hallmark of her game, has diminished, affecting her current performance despite her tennis skills remaining largely intact. An interesting insight is her analysis of her notable record against top-10 players, attributing 25 wins to the freedom of having no expectations in those matches. She contrasts this with the "fear" and self-imposed limits she felt in other matches, which created inconsistency. Cornet and the hosts reflect on the evolution of mental health awareness in tennis, agreeing it is now more of a priority compared to when they started. She expresses nostalgia for the pre-social media era, describing it as a "better time" before online hatred became prevalent. The conversation touches on the addictive nature of social media for athletes and the worrying impact it has on the younger generation. The tone is reflective, intimate, and conversational, blending personal storytelling with broader life lessons. Listeners interested in the psychological journey of a professional athlete, discussions on career transitions, and honest accounts of mental health struggles will appreciate this episode. Those seeking only match analysis or tactical tennis discussion might find it less engaging.

As heard by us

A direct, humane look at tennis when the trophies stop telling the full story.

Alize Cornet's conversation with Caroline Garcia and Borja Duran treats tennis less like a highlight reel and more like a job that keeps asking for more.

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Why you'd press play

For when you want tennis talk that opens into a deeper conversation about life and identity.

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