Lyon is definitely a factory for champions.
After Karim Benzema came to present his Ballon d'Or on Friday at his training club Olympique Lyonnais, it was Caroline Garcia who gave ASUL Villeurbanne a short visit a week after winning the Masters.
But the comparison already stops there: "Caroline's visit was planned for a long time, she also comes back often," says President Jean-Pierre Hirtzig.
“His last victories, especially the one at the Masters, are just the icing on the cake.
Big cherries then.
Because the new covered room, moreover inaugurated by a Caroline on crutches in the spring, was too small to accommodate the hundreds of children who arrived just after teatime.
Among them, Mylia, eight years old, “very happy” to have been able to exchange a few balls with her idol: “It's the first time I've seen her in person, I had a lot of chills!
I found her pretty, kind and happy.
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Read alsoTennis: after her victory at the Masters, how far can Caroline Garcia go?
Happy, Caroline Garcia has everything to be.
The Lyonnaise has been hovering over women's tennis since the summer, to the point of having gone from 74th to 4th place in the WTA rankings in a few months.
Ransom for fame, the player devoted her first day of vacation to a string of media obligations: morning on RTL in Paris, individual interviews in a large hotel in Lyon the afternoon before, after having braved the traffic jams at the start of ring road evening, this homecoming in Villeurbanne.
“She is true to herself, smiling, well-mannered and grateful”
Welcomed by thunderous applause, Caroline first gave a frank hug to her first coach Muriel Merolle: “She is true to herself, smiling, well-behaved and grateful.
“Despite a legitimate fatigue linked to her marathon of the last few days, the player did not brush aside her exchanges with the children.
She stayed there for nearly three hours, first in educational mode with the little ones, then she raised the tempo to give a cue to the most promising teenagers.
Before donating two of his rackets to the local raffle, helping to raise the prize pool to 16,000 euros for the benefit of the League Against Cancer.
Read alsoTennis: Caroline Garcia, Lyonnaise with passion
Still licensed at ASUL Villeurbanne, "a strong symbol" for Jean-Pierre Hirtzig, the Lyonnaise was also awarded an honorary decoration by the club.
Initially supposed to reward his second victory in doubles at Roland-Garros with Kristina Mladenovic last spring, this evening was of course more the occasion to rave about his American triumph of last week: "It's something extraordinary", ignites the president.
The one who was also her physical trainer when she was ten years old adds: “I am very happy for her to see that she reaches this level by presenting such offensive tennis!
It is a consecration in his career.
Finally, for the moment, because I wish him to go even higher in the WTA rankings”.
In Villeurbanne, the conversations revolved a lot around a victory at Roland-Garros in 2023, or even a world number 1 spot.
More pragmatic, Benoît, who came to accompany his son, did not see as far ahead: “Given her current form, she can absolutely win the Australian Open in January.
If that happens, the next autograph session will probably even exceed that of Monday evening, which nevertheless lasted well over an hour.
