After a ten-month initial retirement, Alize Cornet made a surprise comeback to competitive tennis in April 2025. However, her “unretirement” proved just as brief as her initial farewell, as the Frenchwoman has now confirmed that September’s tournament in San Sebastian was the true end of her career—”for real this time.”
Cornet’s first retirement from professional tennis seemed definitive after her emotional loss to Zheng Qinwen at Roland Garros last year. The 35-year-old Frenchwoman appeared ready to close the chapter, bidding farewell during a touching tribute on Court Philippe-Chatrier. As a video montage of her long and decorated career played on the big screen, Cornet wiped away tears, leaving fans convinced it was the end.
Yet the farewell proved premature. Missing the tour, she soon decided to return, beginning with a WTA 125 clay-court event in Spain and entering five more tournaments, including Wimbledon qualifying. Her short-lived comeback closed with a 4–6 win–loss record.
After her first-round loss to Tamara Korpatsch at the WTA 125 Open Internacional de San Sebastian, Cornet announced her decision to once again retire from professional tennis.
“Reflecting on my time in San Sebastian and the end (for real this time) of a chapter as a player,” the former world No. 11 wrote while sharing a series of photos from the Spanish resort town. “Couldn’t dream of a better place than this beautiful city to definitely turn the page and start writing others, in every sense of the word.”
Cornet has won six singles and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour. Impressively, she holds the women’s record for the most consecutive Grand Slam tournaments played—a streak of 69 straight majors that stretched from the 2007 Australian Open to the 2024 French Open.
