Stephanie Cohen-Aloro: A Career in Review
The Women’s Tennis Association Tour bid farewell to a talented professional player last week, on the occasion of Frenchwoman Stephanie Cohen-Aloro’s retirement. The player, who will turn 28 in March, called it a day after playing professionally for almost
ten years.
The player retired on home turf, announcing her withdrawal from the WTA Tour on the 12
February. She played her last matches at the nineteenth edition of the Open GDF Suez, which she was permitted entry to as a Lucky Loser after former World Number 1 Maria Sharapova dropped out due to injuries. The Frenchwoman commented on this, saying,
“"Playing here was a great way to go out. I didn't expect to be here after losing in qualifying and I was afraid the public wouldn't be happy I replaced Sharapova, but with my ranking this kind of match is not the norm.”
When asked about her decision to retire, she said, "It was a difficult decision but one I came to progressively. My passion for tennis is still there but my motivation has started to dip a little.”
The right-handed player achieved her career-high World Number 61 ranking in 2003, two years after joining the WTA. When she retired, Cohen-Aloro was World Number 183. She played a total of 465 matches over ten years, and won 253 of them along with 6 ITF
titles.
Stephanie Cohen-Aloro was primarily a doubles player, although she added 5 International Tennis Federation [ITF] titles to her resume over the course of her career. She joined the junior circuit in 1998, where she made it to the top with ease. However, her
career came to an abrupt standstill when injuries forced her to refrain from playing for an entire year. She returned to the tour in 2000, when she managed to put in semi-final appearances at two ITF events.
Cohen-Aloro’s big break came in 2001, when she took away ITF titles at Bangkok and Madrid for singles and doubles respectively. She accomplished this just before she turned pro, at the age of 18. Her first full year as a professional player was not unsuccessful;
she managed to win two ITF singles titles at Cardiff and Mount Gamier, as well as a singles title in her home country at Cagnes-sur-Mer.
Her best WTA Tour results came in 2004, when she made it to the Estoril semi-final against Iveta Benesova, and in 2008 when she lost Maria Kirilenko at the Barcelona semi-final match. She also played in four quarterfinal matches, and reached one WTA doubles
title match with compatriot Marion Bartoli in 2003.
Over the years, Cohen-Aloro made appearances at all four Grand Slam titles. Her worst showing was at the Wimbledon Championships, where she was routinely eliminated in the first round in the years 2003, 2004 and 2008. She made second round appearances at
the Australian Open in 2005 and 2009, and at the US Open in 2003. Her best performances were in the motherland, where she made it to the third round of the French Open in 2007.
This week, she was eliminated by American tennis player Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the second round at the Open GDF Suez. Her last doubles match was with Selima Sfar from Tunisia, who teamed up with her against Mattek-Sands and Meghann Shaughnessy.
Stephanie Cohen-Aloro, although not a major influence on the WTA, will definitely be missed. She reminisced about her career after her last matches, saying, “Winning the Fed Cup was definitely a highlight, and matches against the Williams sisters and Amélie
[Mauresmo, tournament co-director at the Open GDF Suez] herself also stand out. It was a childhood dream. It was a great experience. I will miss the people, the life. I have no regrets."
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