Roland Garros 2022
Never to return: Laulia Jeanne swept France years late
Roland Garros' Cinderella has previously been hailed as the great hope of French tennis, but injuries and lack of resources have shattered her career.
At 26, she is responsible for the biggest sensation so far in Paris
Walla!
sport
26/05/2022
Thursday, May 26, 2022, 6 p.m.
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We ticked off: Today's summary clip, 26.5 (Sports 1)
If 12-13 years ago they had told the devout tennis fans in France that Olaia Jeanne would beat the world number 8 and qualify for the third round at Roland Garros, they would not be batting an eyelid.
Because 12-13 years ago Olia Jeance was compared to Martina Hingis and was considered one of the most promising tennis players in the world.
A lot has happened since then.
Jeanne is already 26 years old and is a completely anonymous tennis player, at least she has been like that until now.
Today she defeated Carolina Pliskova ranked 8th at Roland Garros, 2: 6, 2: 6 and advanced to the third round.
In her first appearance in the main draw at the Grand Slam tournament, when she is ranked 227th in the world.
More on Walla!
Pliskova was eliminated from the Roland Garros, Badusa worked hard on the way to the 3rd round
To the full article
Nike Natasha, the French Tennis Association abandoned.
Jean (Photo: Reuters)
When in France they marked Jeanne as a "wonder girl", her parents resigned from their jobs in Montpellier and moved with her to the outskirts of Paris.
All for the sake of the evolving career of their home.
She won the French Championships for ages 11-12 and then for ages 13-14.
In an interview with Tennis Magazine, coach Laurent de Pascal said at the time: "Olia is like Mozart. She knows how to do everything in tennis, and she does everything well. When she gets on the court, he draws all the attention."
But the sequel was bad and bitter.
At the age of 15 she underwent a knee injury and the treatments only complicated the condition.
She ended up being absent from the pitches for about two years and after that it was no longer the same.
Nike canceled a long-term sponsorship deal with her and the French Tennis Association, which provided her with a personal trainer when she was 12, abandoned her altogether.
Jeanne moved to the United States to study and hung up her bat. She was only 18, but was already looking across the field. She transferred her work ethic to the Lynn and Arkansas Colleges. She played some tennis in university settings.
In 2020 she went back to France, and also to tennis. "It always sat somewhere in my head," she said at the time. "I subsisted on
a
minimum wage, I lived from week to week," she recounted, "I invested most of the money I earned in getting to the next tournament.
And if I had a good tournament, I would have made enough money to get to the next tournament.
When I had bad competitions, sometimes I would not play for a month and a half or two.
It is simply impossible from an economic point of view. "
Three university degrees.
Jean (Photo: GettyImages, Clive Brunskill)
Today, considerably late compared to the hopes and predictions, Jeanne made headlines.
She did it at the home Grand Slam, much thanks to the fact that she received a Wilde Card.
In the first round she defeated Noria Frisas-Dias of Spain and today she has already broken a new record.
The qualification for the third round gave her great attention, but no less important - promised her 126 thousand euros.
In the next round she will play against Irina-Camellia in the Romanian body and the French crowd will be on her back.
Part of the tradition at Grand Slam tournaments is the Cinderella stories they spawn each year.
This time it's the big comeback of Laulia Zhanjan.
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tennis
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Roland Garros