“In what physical condition is Alexander Levy before this first tournament?
His physical condition is fine, he feels good, there is no back pain. He was able to resume normal training. This week, François Teissedre (his osteopath) is with him in Abu Dhabi to reassure him and to check that everything is in order. From that side, everything is fine. For a player who has been injured, the fear is always that the pain will come back but it is purely mental.
What is the most complicated in the recovery of a player who returns from injury?
The difficulty, as in all sports, is the lack of competition. Alex hasn’t played in a tournament for almost twelve months, he hasn’t had the card in his pocket, etc. Even if he resumed training three or four months ago, competition is also about managing emotions, frustration, strategy, etc. So there, frankly, there is no particular expectation on these two tournaments. I’m talking about the first two Rolex Series arriving. Afterwards, I’m going to see what’s happening in Ras Al Khaimah, the second in Dubai, where in addition I’ll also accompany Jeong Wong Ko, who has just climbed on the Tour. We will make a first point.
“The mental side, he worked on it throughout this recovery period. He worked very hard physically.
Were these times mentally tough for him?
The mental side, he worked on it throughout this period of recovery. He worked very hard physically. Under the leadership of Guillaume Chaubron in conjunction with François Teissedre, he did a lot of very trying recovery exercises. I don’t know if there was a fear of not getting there, but anyway, we don’t talk about that. We talk about positive and we try to control what he will be able to manage. We don’t talk about what could happen that is not controllable.
Alexander Levy fell back to 634th in the world. (L.Walker)
What were your areas of work?
We kept it simple. Quite simply because there is a swing that is very, very simple and very, very good. We resumed on the work we did before his injury by simplifying the action of the body even more. To make it even more mobile and to feel that the body is playing as simply and as well as possible to prevent this hernia from waking up.
“Performance is about hitting the right shot at the right time, making the right decision and having a solid little game. But it’s also about managing the moments of less well when the score does not follow and having the state of mind it takes to fight.
Do you have any expectations this week?
For his first outings, there is no particular expectation but there is no reason for him to play golf badly. The practice sessions were very good. The good shots typed at the driving range, he will hit them on the course. It’s a certainty. But competition and performance is about hitting the right shot at the right time, making the right decision and having a solid little game. But it’s also about managing the moments of less well when the score does not follow and having the state of mind you need to fight. That’s why we’re going to support him at the start of the year. We’re going to help him debrief his days so that he can be lucid in his analyses.
You are currently in Florida with Pauline Roussin Bouchard, another player you train, how is it going?
We had a good training session. Last year, between the LPGA cards and the early season tournaments in Florida, we didn’t have time to do that. But this year, the tournaments in Florida have not taken place and the events taking place in Asia from the end of February are already filled with Asian players. As a result, his season will not start until the end of March. Pauline will have eight weeks of training even if in the meantime, she will be able to play on the LET. She will compete in two Aramco Series in Saudi Arabia and Singapore. Two tournaments that will allow him to make adjustments.
Pauline Roussin-Bouchard is ranked 88th in the world. (CHUNG SUNG-JUN/Getty images via AFP)
What are the objectives of this 2nd season on the LPGA?
We are coming out of a really solid training camp. We didn’t need to make big changes, far from it. We took the time to adjust details that we didn’t have time to do last year. This year, we have not set a goal for the LPGA. It’s her second year, she’s no longer a rookie, she knows the courses, she knows the requirements. I think she leaves a lot less in the unknown and I feel more confident. She had a good end to the season last year with 4 top 20s. So there, we will have to get into the game from the first tournaments. She aims to finish as high as possible on merit to play in the final. But above all, we must continue to progress and improve in the world rankings. »
