Less than a year after retiring from professional tennis at her home Grand Slam, Alizé Cornet is set to make a comeback.
The 35-year-old Frenchwoman has announced her provisional schedule for a return to action on clay over the coming months. She will begin at the La Bisbal d'Empordà WTA 125 event, starting on Mar. 31, and will subsequently return to tour level at the Open Capfinances Rouen Métropole, where she has received a wild card, on Apr. 14. Cornet will then compete in the WTA 1000 qualifying rounds of Madrid and Rome.
"After 8 weeks of intense training (and 10 months of retirement 😂), here I am soon back on the courts 🤩!" Cornet wrote. "Even if it's only for a couple of tournaments, the desire to play and the excitement of the competition are beautiful and very much there✊️. I've worked very hard to put all the odds on my side but I've had a great pleasure doing it. For the love of tennis, for the desire of this last thrill that I hope to share with you 💪."
Former No. 11 Cornet has not played since falling in the first round of Roland Garros last year to Zheng Qinwen, after which her illustrious career was honored in an emotional on-court ceremony. Her last professional win was over Olivia Gadecki at the Paris WTA 125 event last May, where she reached the quarterfinals. Her last tour-level victory was over Yanina Wickmayer in the first round of Cluj-Napoca last February.
Cornet played her first professional match in 2004, and went on to capture six Hologic WTA Tour titles, compete in a record 69 consecutive Grand Slam main draws and notch 25 Top 10 wins, including victories over Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek. She did not opt to remove herself from the PIF WTA Rankings after Roland Garros, and still holds a position of No. 523.
