Alize Cornet, a 35-year-old French tennis player and former world No. 11, has shared the reasons behind her return to professional tennis. Despite announcing her retirement in 2024, she made a comeback to the court in the spring of 2025.
“I didn`t want my retirement to feel truly final,” Cornet explained. “The thought of not being able to return if I wanted to bothered me. It wasn`t a necessity to come back, as I had already achieved significant success in tennis.”
“At that time, I was experiencing intense fatigue and exhaustion from constant travel and matches. The stress was overwhelming. I genuinely believed it was the end and was ready for a new chapter. And it was. I enjoyed those nine months immensely. However, the desire to train on the court never left me, and I kept asking my partner to play with me. Eventually, he suggested I find sparring partners because he couldn`t play every day.”
“I wasn’t sure how my body would react. After three weeks, noticing that everything was going well, I felt great and enjoyed training every day. That`s when I thought, `Maybe it`s worth coming back for a little while?`” Cornet revealed in an interview.
