“The darkest period”, admits Mladenovic who lived a nightmare

The Frenchwoman was touched in a press conference after a loss in the first round against the American Day in two sets.

Par Gilles Festor

Posted on 05/29/2023 at 12:49update on 05/29/2023 at 4:23 p.m.

A Roland-Garros

Big disappointment for Kristina Mladenovic. The French, ranked 166th in the world, was eliminated in two sets by the American Kayla Day, 138th in the WTA rankings. 7-5, 6-1. After a tight first set, Mladenovic never managed to get the upper hand on the Simonne Mathieu court and disappeared in the first round after this nightmare match.

Invited by the tournament, the 30-year-old player was only deceived in the first set, where she was first broken from the start (2-0) before falling behind (2-2). Mladenovic, 13th player in the world in doubles but 166th in singles, then had five break points at 3-3 without managing to convert them. Conversely, Day (138th) was very effective in winning her first set point (7-5) after just over an hour of play. After qualifying, the 23-year-old Californian then took place despite a few hanging games, Mladenovic only managing to win his face-off once during a round that lasted half as long as the first.

In a press conference, Mladenovic confessed to living “the darkest timeof his career before explaining that his game did not reflect his investment in training. “I don’t give up everyday. I do not hide and I know what I give and how I work by being lucid about what is wrong. I won’t go into details but we are all human and there have been health concerns that have dragged on in recent months. I have never been the kind of player to complain in the press about my health problems. I try to get out of it. It’s better on health but tennistically it does not improve.»

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Since 2017, Mladenovic has not exceeded a 3rd round in a Grand Slam

«Sometimes I say to myself: “What’s the point of working for such results?”. It’s discouraging but I love the game and want to fight. It may seem crazy and I have my doubts, of course. But playing at Roland-Garros with an audience behind me is also what keeps me going. I really like this sport“, detailed the Frenchwoman who will continue her season in the Challengers tournaments to try to find an acceptable level.

Quarter-finalist Porte d’Auteuil in 2017, Mladenovic has since failed to pass the third round in singles in a Grand Slam tournament.

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