After almost two years without playing, Alizé Lim made her return to the courts in recent days, near Monastir. At 33, the Frenchwoman decided to devote herself 100% to tennis again.
It’s a crazy bet that Alizé Lim is taking on. At 33, the Frenchwoman decided to get back on track with her career. While she had not played an official match for almost two years, her last appearance on the ITF circuit dating back to April 2022 during the W25 tournament in Calvi, the former 135th player in the world returned to the courts. Discreetly. And after having marked her return with a defeat against Emmanuelle Girard, two weeks ago, the Parisian won a victory against Elina Popescu (6-1, 6-3), during the qualifications of the W15 in Monastir.
An important success that she wanted to share with her fans on social networks, explaining the reasons for her long absence and her newfound desire to play tennis again. “When I stopped playing on the (WTA) tour in 2020, I still loved playing tennis but I had to deal with so many injuries and come back from a lower ranking. And that, combined with a deep desire to explore many other things, made me stop traveling.”she explains on her Instagram account, where she is followed by more than 115,000 people.
“My shoulder was so painful…”
“And I have to admit too, spending all the money I earned off the field to be able to pursue my passion and feeling broke at 30 was starting to get on my nerves a little! I never announced that I was retiring because it didn’t feel right. I thought, ‘Oh, I’ll just play a few tournaments here and there and tennis will continue to be a part of my life.’ But I was busy having other experiences and I didn’t have enough time for that anymore. adds the one who regularly acts as a consultant.
And Tony Parker’s former partner continues: “I quickly understood that it was a lie: if you want to play, you have to dedicate yourself to it full time. It’s too demanding. Every time I went to train, it tugged at my heart to say to my coach: ‘Goodbye, see you in two weeks… I have something else to do here’. But I was happy to make other plans and it ended up being good, living in the moment. » This parenthesis also allowed him to better deal with the pain that his shoulder made him feel on a daily basis with each racket swing.
“The last two years I played a few team matches and my shoulder was so sore that I had to spoon serve, or do a serve at 2 km/h in the square and run. I did this one more time last November and thought, ‘This is horrible. It might have been my last tennis match and it looked like this.’ This was not at all what I had in mind. So I decided: ‘I want to commit again, I’m going to do the rehabilitation I need and I want to play at least one more match at 100%, with normal service.’ »
“I have no idea where this is going to take me.”
To put all the chances on her side and make a successful comeback, Alizé Lim spent five months in rehabilitation at the FFT National Training Center. And it has now been three months that she has been playing tennis full time. “ Today I played and won my first match on the circuit without shoulder pain, she rejoices. I have no idea where this will take me, whether I will still enjoy the journey for weeks and weeks or whether my old body will withstand this intensity for a long time, but it is already a victory for me. »
“I will end it on my terms and whenever I want, she concludes, determined to make all the necessary efforts to have no regrets the day she decides, this time for good, to hang up the phone. It’s difficult to go back to the kind of tournament we played when we were 18, the qualifications of a W15, without a chair umpire and without changing balls… But you have to do what you have to when you loves tennis. » A passion that will lead her to face Maria Kalyakina in her next match against Monastir.
2024-03-25 12:41:00
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