Month: July 2025

July 8, 2025

“I was always very passionate about tennis from a young age. My first memory of playing was with my grandfather on holiday in the south of France. We’d go and play together on the clay when I was three, maybe four, years old. I’m from Paris, but moved to the south of France when I was twelve. It’s almost 800 kilometers away, so it was quite a big change. But I was motivated. The first week of integration, I broke my leg. After that happened, I was back in Paris for two months healing. Then, when I came back, things were a bit off because people were friends already. It was tough, being young and far from my parents. But I’m happy I decided to stay there. It made me more tough, and taught me how to exist in situations that aren’t easy at first. After two years there, I took a private coach, because I knew this could become a serious thing for me. I stopped school not long after, and made the decision to really focus on tennis and make it my job. When it really became clear that I was a pro player was my first win (more…)

July 2, 2025

“My first memory of playing, I was six and a half. I started playing in a tennis group with five or six other kids. It’s honestly really special, because my first coach from that day, we still keep in touch. It’s a great relationship. My father was a professional table tennis player. There were times where I thought I might pursue that, but my mom said, “No, don’t go with that.” There was no money. I would play sometimes with dad, because he was still playing in the Italian Liga. I also loved figure skating and rhythmic gymnastics. But with tennis, I really loved the competition, and I had more chances. Moving from the juniors to the pros was so difficult for me. Really, really hard. I didn’t understand everything that came with being a pro. There’s so much pressure, I didn’t have a real personality already built. I had no idea who I was. Over the past seven years, I’ve invested a lot. I’ve invested in my team, myself. As soon as I had the chance to pay for a coach, I did it. I wasn’t scared. I knew, in my mind, that I could do more. What I (more…)