Garcia in the tough, 3 players in the Top 100, less solid base… The reasons for the fiasco of French women’s Tennis in Melbourne

After four days of competition, there are already no more French women competing at the Australian Open. Varvara Gracheva, the player of Russian origin, the last Tricolor in competition, did not know how to seize the opportunity that the table offered her this Thursday. She who was already the last French representative at Roland-Garros (round of 16) lost at 2^e round of the Australian Open, against the German Eva Lys (128^e world), « lucky loser » who had only learned 5 minutes before her first match that she was entering the tournament and who saw herself propelled to 3^e tour.

From a fairy tale to a nightmare, the Blues (5 entered) only won one match during the Australian Open, confirming the erosion recorded for months. If the last major French Tennis titles were won by women, they date back (Mary Pierce titled at Roland-Garros in 2000, Amélie Mauresmo crowned at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2006, Marion Bartoli winner of Wimbledon in 2013 , Fed Cup 2019, Caroline Garcia victorious at the Masters in 2022). And what happens next is worrying. Lighting.

A headliner in need of bearings

At 31, Caroline Garcia, after a break of several months, returned to the circuit in Melbourne. Without success. In need of reference points, for her first match since an elimination in the semi-finals in Guadalajara against the Polish Magdalena Frech in September, she was able to measure the amount of work, details and control she lacked to hope to compete at the highest level. . The Lyonnaise fell to 67^e world place (the former No. 4) was, without merit, eliminated by the Japanese Naomi Osaka, also launched in a reconquest operation.

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Caroline Garcia, who lost her (anecdotal) place as French n°1, finds herself facing a vast undertaking, that of her desires and the reality of a circuit which leaves little room, little time for feelings, for procrastination, adjustments. Where everything goes quickly, very quickly. She assures that the break was saving and that she found the taste for playing again. How far can he take it? The question is crucial for French women’s tennis and for those who, in recent years, have often carried the hopes on their shoulders and seen the criticism fall.

No players in the Top 50

France only has 3 players in the Top 100: Diane Parry 66^eCaroline Garcia 67^eVarvara Gracheva 69^e ; and only 10 in the Top 200 (French tennis has 10 players in the Top 100, including 3 in the Top 30). Like Italy but transalpine tennis carried by Jannik Sinner et Cie can rely on Jasmine Paolini (finalist at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon in 2024). In 2024, French women’s tennis has only won one title with Loïs Boisson, at the Open 35 in Saint-Malo, a WTA 125 tournament. After the departures of Alizé Cornet and Pauline Parmentier, the new generation played by Diane Parry (22 years old) and Clara Burel (23 years old) are struggling to find a place of choice. The wait is considerable, the momentum absent, the confidence at half mast, the pain deep. It is read in a brutal and recurring manner during major events such as the Olympics, Grand Slam tournaments or the Billie Jean King Cup (formerly Fed Cup), where France is no longer in the world group).

The next generation? In the juniors, if Australia and the United States dominate, the first Frenchwoman, the promising Ksenia Efremova (15 years old) is at 31^e place (already in 840th place in the WTA rankings). Regular curiosity of the Petits As Tournament, labeled a French tennis prodigy, the naturalized French player in 2023 has, after attending the Mouratoglou academy since 2019, recently chosen to train at the Elite Tennis Center in Cannes (where Daniil Medevedev, Alexandre Müller or Mirra Andreeva). To expand your background, rise to the height of your ambition. French tennis is watching and waiting for it. Looking forward.

A less solid foundation

The photography of French tennis is clear: “Today, we have 30% of licensees”recalls Gilles Moretton, the president of the Federation. Male domination naturally trickles down to the elite. It is therefore difficult, in the short term, to aim for the summits (those reached by Amélie Mauresmo world number 1, the only one in French tennis during the Open era, winner of the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2006, of the Masters in 2005 and Mary Pierce, victorious at the 1995 Australian Open and 2000 Roland-Garros). Inspire, detect, support, the challenge is immense. “We have good players. I think Clara (Burel, 103rd) and Diane have the potential to be in the 20 (best). Let’s be careful, let’s not get carried away when they (the French players) have won a match and let’s not destroy them when they lose. It’s life (…) We must allow as many people as possible to play tennis, that’s what we have started to do and I think we will reap the benefits later”summarized the president of the FFT to AFP.