Another failure. Since the start of the decade, French tennis has been in great difficulty, and it is not the 2026 Australian Open that will reverse the trend. This Friday, the last French representative in the singles tables, Corentin Moutet, was swept away by world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz. There will therefore be no French in the second week. A now well-established tradition, which is illustrated by the figures.
1
While 18 French men and women had obtained their place in the two main draws, there was already only one left in the 3rd round: Corentin Moutet. Worse still, 12 lost in the first round. Varvara Gracheva, Elsa Jacquemot, Alexandre Müller, Quentin Halys and Arthur Gea were beaten in the 2nd round, while Moutet logically lost to Carlos Alcaraz in three straight sets.
2
To understand this disaster scenario, a quick look at the world rankings is necessary. Because France only had two small seeds at the dawn of this first Grand Slam of the season. 28th in the world and first Frenchman, Arthur Rinderknech disappointed against Fabian Marozsan (47th), while Corentin Moutet held his place until this delicate meeting against the world No. 1. Qualified for the 3rd round, Valentin Vacherot chose to represent Monaco. Among the girls, no seed, and no achievement either.
12
With twelve representatives in the top 100, we could undoubtedly expect better from the French men’s team. The observation is however obvious: during this decade, only one Habs has reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam. This is Gaël Monfils, who achieved it at the Australian Open in 2022. That makes only one quarter-final in 24 tournaments. Skinny.
2
On the women’s side, the results are no better. Like last year in Melbourne, no French woman reached the 3rd round. This is the first time since the beginning of the 1980s that no Habs has made it past the second round in two consecutive editions of the Australian Grand Slam. A disastrous observation which is explained in particular by the absence of Loïs Boisson but also by a new generation which is struggling to impose itself without Caroline Garcia or Alizé Cornet.
1991
Six Tricolors only in the 2nd round of the Australian Open, this has not happened for 35 years. In 1991, Guy Forget, Catherine Tanvier and the French delegation presented such a meager assessment. Conversely, there were 18 of them to pass the first round during the 2009 edition. A relatively recent past which nevertheless seems so distant.
198
Let us end, however, on a positive note. Because if France wants to boast of a success, it can only be Arthur Gea. Coming out of qualifying after three authoritative victories, the 198th in the world, only 21 years old, took the scalp of top 20 Jiri Lehecka, before losing at the end of the suspense and a suffocating 5th set against Stan Wawrinka. A tournament full of promise.
