This is the big surprise of Monday morning. Hardly back in competition, Alizé Cornet is already making her return to the French team. She will participate this week in the Billie Jean King Cup.
The chef’s surprise. Julien Benneteau, the French tennis team coach, has decided to call up Alizé Cornet for the next two Billie Jean King Cup events. The French selector justified his choice: “Alizé is physically fit and competitive. She can play singles and especially doubles. Her experience in this competition and the fact that she can play with Diane (Parry) or Caroline (Garcia) are assets that can be useful to us during the week.”
A choice that can be understood based on the experience of the Nice native who knows her teammates well. Except that after only three matches under her belt, it’s hard to say what Alizé Cornet’s real level is. Moreover, she had to withdraw from her last match on Thursday at the WTA 125 Bisbal d’Empordà tournament due to a physical issue.
Diane Parry also in the group
But it doesn’t matter because the Billie Jean King Cup does not require back-to-back matches. Alizé Cornet has been called up as the 5th player, which does not mean she will automatically play. As Julien Benneteau specifies, the Nice native is mainly in the group to possibly play doubles with players she knows well. Notably, Diane Parry is present in the group and has a chance to play singles against Sweden tomorrow and/or Turkey on Wednesday.
A bit of good news for the player from the Maralpine region who has been struggling since her injury last year in the play-off match of this same competition. The youngest of the Nice players still managed to win despite a problematic knee that needed treatment on the court after a slide. Withdrawn for the rest of the competition, she was forced to watch from the stands as her teammates were defeated one after another, leading to France being relegated from the World Group to Group I.
Now she is back, even though she still hasn’t recorded a victory this year. Alongside Alizé Cornet, Caroline Garcia, Varvara Gracheva, and Clara Burel, they are tasked with trying to win promotion back to the World Group this year. This goal seems achievable, although French women’s tennis has struggled in recent months, with only Varvara Gracheva (67th) and Caroline Garcia (99th) making it into the world’s Top 100.
Alizé Cornet and Diane Parry are expected to lend a helping hand to their partners. Perhaps as soon as tomorrow against Sweden or Wednesday against Turkey.