The great leap of Corentin Moutet

“It’s been a great season. I finished my best ranking. The second half was especially good, after Paris,” he reflected. Corentin Moutet in front of a group of Spanish journalists during the ASICS event in Marbella. He was one of the stars of the brand’s New Year’s Eve and reached this moment with a sense of accomplishment, with the happiness of being promoted. from the 92nd place where the season started (in fact, it happened on the 139th of the month of May) until the 51st where he bids farewell in 2022.

Moutet lived a year of steady improvement. He has done it on a game level, but also on a mental level after coming under the spotlight at the end of last September, when a tense hurdle over Adrian Andreev at the Orleans Challenger He traveled the world and was put on the front line for an action not directly related to tennis. It was a mole that helped him learn, fueling him in a year where his game improved despite injuries that threatened to hinder his progress.

“I made a mistake. I learned from it and it will help me both for the rest of my career and to become a better person. It’s hard to get your and your family’s name out there. It was also difficult for them,” Moutet reflected on that episode. “It’s part of the game, we all make mistakes. The most important thing is not to make the same mistake and I think we should help each other,” he said.

During his studies, he added the ‘challenger’ titles of Lyon and Szczecin and, above all, a round of 16 at the US Open showing that the French tennis player has found a way to try to give more help to the tennis planet. The Parisian has found his place on the circuit and only thinks about improvement. “I started the year playing well. I had a difficult moment in the middle of the season with various injuries. It was difficult to get it back on track, but my team helped me get back up and come back strong”, he explained. “Since Paris I have been able to train harder to have a good season,” he said with satisfaction.

At 51st place in the world ranking, he achieved the goal he set at the beginning of the year. “The situation in Australia at the beginning is very different because of the coronavirus and it is difficult to understand how the ranking will work, so I focus on getting as many points as possible“, he details. In the spotlight, settle in the top100 to ensure his presence in the Grand Slam and get closer to the top50.

Said and done. Moutet has achieved that goal and it is clear what has been the key to achieving it. “Work, because hard work is more important than results”, reflect. He feels that he has taken a lot of steps forward this season, both in his mentality and in his tennis. “What I improved the most was in a combination of aspects that made me a more mature player. I started the year in good physical shape and maintained it for a long time,” he explained. “Also, I got to know my team better. I want to find the right balance between working hard and having the right rest”, Add. He was sure that if he succeeded, the result would come.

Although to achieve them there are obstacles in the way. Moutet will stop training in 2022 by Laurent Raymond, coach of the French Federation guiding his career. The French body withdrew its support for the tennis player after the incident in Orleans, so the player had to adjust his technical organization chart. “I have been training with him for a long time and we have come a long way. We had a good relationship and we are stuck because the Federation stopped that support. nothing has changed for me“, said Moutet about how he was influenced by the federative’s decision.

Now start walking along petar popovic, who directed players like Ivo Karlovic, Filip Krajinovic or Andrea Petkovic. “I don’t plan to change coaches now, because I feel good. I wanted to find someone with a good level to help me and I feel lucky to be able to start working with him.“, he assures about his new coach. With him he seeks to improve on all kinds of surfaces. “I feel more comfortable outside. It doesn’t matter if it’s on dirt, hard or grass. I think I have good hard skills and some good ground skills“, he reflected. “It’s about adapting, even if they play differently. I like the outdoors because of the wind and the sun. It’s better for my game,” he added.

Stimuli beyond tennis

Moutet took his game a big step forward this year by settling on things other than tennis. For example, music is a great stimulant for him. “I am a person who is curious about people and about different things in life, even now I am focused on tennis”, affirm without neglecting a great hobby that he especially treats during imprisonment. Traveling is also one of his passions. “I am a positive person in life and I like to discover new countries and new cultures and meet people who have lived different experiences,” he said.

These are hobbies that help him separate himself from his work as a tennis player. In recent months, he has also started managing his social networks in a different way to stay focused on his work. “My accounts are handled by me. Before, it was difficult to manage the harsh messages that came to me from people, even though I tried not to let it affect me too much. People don’t realize that behind a profile there is a real person.“, reflected Moutet, who received several disrespectful messages, especially after his episode in Orleans. “It is difficult to understand why people behave this way. I would never be like this to people I don’t know. It’s hard for me to understand it,” he launched.

However, the difficult episodes that he experienced helped him to better understand the effects that his actions could have, a situation that did not remove him from the spotlight. “I want to do an interview. It’s good to share experiences and get a chance to tell the truth from your point of view. Most of the time we work on the court and there is a reality that is very different from what people think”, he explained. “We know the sacrifices that have to be made for tennis, but also the positive things that come with it this”, he celebrates.

Among these positive aspects, Moutet is an authorized voice from his position as a professional tennis player to evaluate the changes experienced by tennis in 2022, arriving at number 1 in the world of Carlos Alcaraz. “He’s a great player. I’ve never faced him, so I don’t know what that experience is like. He’s very young and It’s amazing what you get“, he praises the Murcian tennis player, without wanting to comment on who could be the great rival of the Spaniard in the coming years. “I don’t know. I don’t know how to look at the future,” he said with a laugh.

He knows firsthand what self-measurement is Rafael Nadal to a full Philippe Chatrier, the center of Roland Garros. “This is the biggest challenge you can have in tennis. I felt proud that I could have improved in the ranking enough to be able to play against him on that court”, he said with satisfaction. “My ambition is to win, but I tried to take a positive reading of the match and I felt lucky to be there. It’s a motivation to play games,” he said.

These are new tools to grow the mind. “It was one of the most difficult years in that aspect and my team helped me a lot. I worked well and we found the right path”, said Moutet. “It’s been a challenge. I was able to finish in the highest ranking of my career, so this year serves to make me stronger. Now I want to work hard and try to become a better player.“, said Moutet. This is his wish for 2023 after 2022 where he made his great leap.