At 26 years old and out of the 350 best in the world, it could be said that the hope that Laurent Lokoli one day break among the best in the world is rather rare. His story, however, has enough of hope, of overcoming, of passion. One more day, Behind the racquet collects the personal narrative of an active tennis player, in this case, that of the French tennis player. Losing a loved one was the great obstacle in his career for Lokoli, although a promise fulfilled at the time is enough for him to live with a smile, although the results obtained may not have been as good as those of some of his companions. We read it.
<!–
–>
“I grew up with my parents and my three older sisters in Corsica, a small island in the Mediterranean Sea. At the age of ten, life brought me to my knees when one of my sisters was diagnosed with cancer. For two years I watched her fight for her life. I remember seeing her crying when she lost her hair, hugging me, I felt helpless. After a long struggle, he ended up beating cancer and made me promise that I would never give up in life.
At the age of twelve I left home to continue training. Tennis helped me fight in that moment in life where I saw myself a little lonely, my parents were getting divorced at that time. I finally found stability, although it was right at that moment that I experienced the deepest pain of my life. At the age of 14, my older sister died in a car accident when she was only 28 years old. I felt like someone ripped my heart out of my chest, I couldn’t bear the pain. My sister was a lawyer, she was my role model, she left me an irreplaceable void.
From that moment I became a totally different person, trying to find a way to fight my pain in the dark and in solitude. I was like a kind of outsider within the French Tennis Federation, I saw myself alone, although I struggled to make friends. Meanwhile I saw my family fall apart, there were people who understood me. They did not understand that he could no longer be happy.
Tennis saved me, it was the only time where I could feel close to my sister, since she was completely in love with this sport. I will always have her under my skin, my goal is for her to feel proud. From 16 to 20 years old I improved a lot on the court. In my spare time I started to become fond of hip-hop, I remembered the times when I danced with her. Dancing also helped me a lot socially. Later I lost my grandparents and my stepbrother, who left my 3-year-old niece alone with my sister. Death has always been around me, but I managed to leave all that darkness behind.
At age 20 I saw the light after qualifying for the final draw at Roland Garros, I even had the opportunity to dance with Gael Monfils on the main floor. I promised my sister that one day I would play Roland Garros, so that was why I had kept fighting for all these years, it was a promise that I wanted to keep. During these last few seasons I have struggled with various injuries, but I always smile when I get back on the track, life taught me to enjoy the little things. This year I remembered again how precious life is when my uncle was diagnosed with cancer, also when I had a car accident during the tournament in Mallorca.
I think at this point I am unshakable. My confidence in myself, my fighting spirit, my tattoos, even my dark side. All of these things have scarred me in the past, but they also taught me to live in the present and embrace the future. Life is short, it is very important to smile even when you are going through difficult times. You’re never alone”.
.
