She is one of the French hits at the start of the tournament. Qualified, Thursday, May 26, for the 3rd round of Roland-Garros after her great victory against Karolina Pliskova, Léolia Jeanjean attracts all the lights for her atypical story and her dented career.
After a serious injury in her youth, and years away from tennis, the former great hope wanted to try her luck again. “I wanted to try again, so as not to have any regrets. I was good at beating some girls on the tour ten years ago, why can’t I be as good ten years later?”, she explained at a press conference after her match.
Despite everything, Léolia Jeanjean is the first surprise of her success for a few days, she who thought she was no match for opponents better ranked than her. “What surprises me is that my game bothers them so much, I thought I was going to be overtaken by speed, that I was going to take winning shots all over the place, and that’s not the case”she confessed. “I could never have imagined all this when I stopped playing for several years.”
Léolia Jeanjean is in the 3rd round of Roland-Garros!
She beat No. 8 seed Karolina Pliskova 6-2, 6-2. #Roland Garros pic.twitter.com/0PZ19qzIZJ— Roland Garros (@rolandgarros) May 26, 2022
In her preparation, she relied on her anonymity to create an effect of surprise and put the odds on her side. “The girls I play against have no idea who I am, how I play, unlike me, who knows them better. I know their strengths and weaknesses, and I can put a tactic in place”she explained.
After two solid victories against Nuria Parrizas Diaz (6-4, 6-3) then against Karolina Pliskova on Thursday (6-2, 6-2), she qualified for the third round thanks to her first two Grand Slam victories, at 26 years. “I didn’t expect to experience this at all. I just want to keep giving my best, enjoying myself, and I’ll see how far it takes me”.
With these two victories, Léolia Jeanjean should climb the WTA rankings, and redefine her program for the rest of the season. “Everything that is happening is changing the plans a bit, especially the programming. I left to do the ITFs, now I will be able to do the WTAs.” The Frenchwoman already has her next goal in sight: Wimbledon. “I’ll be qualifying at Wimbledon, I don’t even have to wonder”she assures. “My first dream was to play Roland-Garros, because it’s my favorite surface in my country. But playing on grass at Wimbledon is just as good!”