Ranked nº 14 by the WTA, French-Japanese tennis player ÉLODIE LODGER dreams of achieving her first Grand Slam title.
Meanwhile, F2 Champion and member of McLaren's F1 Team OSCAR PIASTRI seeks the World Driver's Championship.
Their only common grou...
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"Come on, Él, your backhand is fucked."
I took a deep breath, then another, my hands resting on my knees as I tried to steady my breathing. I looked up, locking eyes with Emma.
"Your backhand is fucked."
My legs gave out and I sank to the floor, burying my head between my knees.
"My wrist isn't the problem," she laughed, wiping sweat from her brow as she walked over. She extended a hand to me. "Come on, partner, let's get back to training."
"I need time," I groaned, still facing the floor. "A year, at least."
"I can give you, like, five minutes."
"Will do."
Emma Raducanu and I had signed up for the Women's Doubles at the Australia Open, which starts tomorrow. We were finishing up our last training session before facing our first opponents, Ingrid Martins and Monica Niculescu. For the rest of the morning, we planned to fine-tune our strategy and then head to the media obligations.
When I raised my head, my eyes instantly met my coach's, Jean-Luc Moreau. Although his eyes were already sinking due to his age, even from afar I could notice his worrying look as he glanced over to me whilst talking to Emma's trainer. I gave him a faint smile, and he responded with a reassuring nod. With a sigh, I accepted Emma's outstretched hand and pulled myself up from the floor.
She leaned over to me and whispered, "Don't let it get to your head."
I patted her shoulder. "Je suis pas. Just pissed." It was the truth. My wrist wasn't a big concern anymore, even though I still felt it snap at the most random times.
It all happened during the Paris Masters, in November 2023. It was the Singles semifinals and the match was in its third set, with me serving at 30-30.
I'd hit a serve that Emma Navarro managed to return with a deep, fast-paced shot. As I was reaching to her backhand side, I tried to return the ball with a two-handed backhand.
When I extended my reach, Navarro, anticipating a drop shot, quickly approached the net. During that, Emma's racquet came dangerously close to my wrist as she lunged forward to intercept the ball.
The impact caused me to drop my racquet and clutch my wrist, screaming in pain. The match was halted, and medical staff rushed onto the court. After examining me, they confirmed I had sustained a significant wrist injury, preventing me from continuing the match and the tournament.
Though I was the favorite to win the Masters, I was forced to withdraw and spent the entire month of December recovering, hoping to be ready for the Australian Open in January. The incident was ruled accidental, but Navarro was fined for unsportsmanlike conduct due to her comments in the post-match interviews.
