Less than a year after her first retirement, after the 2024 French Open — the 20th of her career — Alize Cornet returned to the Hologic WTA Tour this past April at the WTA 125 event in La Bisbal d’Empordà, Spain.
Less than six months later, she’s decided to hang up her racquet again.
“Reflecting on my time in San Sebastian and the end (for real this time 😜) of a chapter as a player,” Cornet wrote on Instagram, referencing the Spanish city where she played the final tournament of her career earlier this month. “Couldn’t dream of a better place than this beautiful city to definitely turn the page and start writing others, in every sense of the word.”
At the age of 15, Cornet made her Grand Slam singles debut at the 2005 French Open, the start of a two-decade-long career in which she reached No. 11 in the PIF WTA Rankings and won six singles titles (Budapest, Bad Gastein, Strasbourg, Katowice, Hobart and Gstaad).
She posted 25 Top 10 wins, including seven victories over Top 3 players: No. 1 Serena Williams (three times in 2014), No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska (2014), No. 2 Simona Halep (2015), No. 3 Garbine Muguruza (2022) and No. 1 Iga Swiatek (2022). The win over Swiatek, at Wimbledon, memorably ended the six-time Grand Slam champion’s 37-match winning streak.
She was also a member of France’s Fed Cup-winning team in 2019, made the Australian Open quarterfinals in 2022 and won three doubles titles.
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“Alize’s distinguished WTA results and incredible record of Grand Slam participation reflect supreme dedication to the game and a fierce competitive spirit,” WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon said in 2024. “She can also be proud of her contribution as a role model who helped to grow women’s tennis by engaging with fans, sponsors and media in a special way. On behalf of the WTA family, I wish her much happiness and success as she takes on new adventures.”
The 35-year-old went 4-6 in her comeback campaign, playing a mix of WTA125 events and qualifying matches. (She won two qualifying matches at Wimbledon before dropping her third to Elsa Jacquemot). The final match of her career, in San Sebastian, was a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Tamara Korpatsch.
Cornet ends her career with a lifetime 549-463 singles record.