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the Aquitaines Jessika Ponchet and Audrey Albié in the race for Roland-Garros

SRemember last year: Léolia Jeanjean, former child prodigy of French tennis, lived a fairy tale at Roland-Garros. Recipient of an invitation, the 26-year-old from Montpellier, who disappeared from the radar for several years after a serious knee injury, crossed two laps by eliminating the former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova. Undoubtedly the beautiful story of a Roland-Garros too quickly deserted by the French, all eliminated before the round of 16.

SRemember last year: Léolia Jeanjean, former child prodigy of French tennis, lived a fairy tale at Roland-Garros. Recipient of an invitation, the 26-year-old from Montpellier, who disappeared from the radar for several years after a serious knee injury, crossed two laps by eliminating the former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova. Undoubtedly the beautiful story of a Roland-Garros too quickly deserted by the French, all eliminated before the round of 16.

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Roland-Garros: Léolia Jeanjean, back to the future

Former child prodigy of French tennis, Léolia Jeanjean is back in the spotlight, after moving to the United States. She will rub shoulders with world No. 8 Karolina Pliskova in the second round of Roland-Garros this Thursday. Back on his amazing journey

Albié in full revival

This adventure, Audrey Albié lived it in the front row, at the edge of the court at each of her friend’s matches. Today, the Périgourdine, trained in Saint-Astier, can hope to win the sesame obtained last season by Léolia Jeanjean, the wild card “Destination Roland-Garros” also called “Race France”, an invitation on merit awarded by the FFT, according to the points acquired during tournaments played in France. “It’s a goal, admits Audrey Albié, but I don’t put enormous pressure on myself. The priority is first of all to enter the qualifications directly by my ranking and climb into the top 200. But after that, if I can get this wild card for the final draw, that would be a big bonus”.

Currently fourth in the “Race France” ranking, the native of Sarlat is in full revival this season. Rising to the gates of the top 200, her best career ranking, she is fully blossoming alongside her new coach Antoine Hamard. “I totally agree with his speech, we are developing my attacking game as much as possible and today I am experiencing the best period of my career”, confides the 28-year-old player. Accessing the final draw of Roland-Garros would then be a great reward and a big boost for the one who has only participated in a Grand Slam final draw once, at Roland-Garros in 2019. She has three left tournaments (Croissy-Beaubourg, Calvi and Saint-Malo) to rack up points and experience his second major draw.

Ponch at the gates of the top 100

Audrey Albié should meet Jessika Ponchet there, just ahead of her in the standings. La Landaise is also deploying her best tennis since the end of the 2022 season, a level of play that has led her today to the best ranking of her career, 134th in the world. So close to the top 100, synonymous with direct qualification for the Grand Slam final draw, the TC Capbreton licensee claims not to have this wild card in mind at all. “I don’t even know how high I’m ranked on the list,” she smiles. With my mother (who is also her coach, editor’s note), what we are aiming for in the short term is the top 100 to enter the final draw at Roland and Wimbledon, without needing an invitation. For us, this is the way to go”.

In full progress, Jessika Ponchet, 26, has oscillated between 200th and 135th place in the world for more than three years. Solid against players lower ranked than her, the native of Bayonne must now cross this threshold to settle permanently on the main circuit and play the biggest events. “I have never progressed so much mentally and tennistically as in recent months,” she says. The next meetings will be decisive in her race for the top 100. If she were to reach it and qualify directly for Roland-Garros, she would delight her pursuers in the “Race France”, which would automatically climb rank in the standings. Several paths lead to Porte d’Auteuil, but the shorter the better.

Manual

The first player in the Race France ranking who does not make it into the final draw at Roland-Garros thanks to her ranking, will be awarded a wild card. Currently in the lead ahead of Jessika Ponchet and Audrey Albié, Océane Dodin (93rd) has been in the top 100 for several weeks. If she stays there, the invite will go to the next in the standings.

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