ROLAND GARROS

May 29, 2025

Elsa Jacquemot

Press Conference

E. JACQUEMOT/A. Parks

6-2, 6-7, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: How did you feel on court tonight? Could you tell us a little bit?

ELSA JACQUEMOT: Thanks. My English is not very good, but I try.

I'm feeling good, so I'm happy to win this match.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. Can you tell us what happened in your mind at the end of the second set. You kept looking to your box. You were giving them quite dark looks.

ELSA JACQUEMOT: Yes, this match was not easy. I went through some big highs and some lows. In the second set, I got through with some match points. I wanted to get through the points quickly. I tried to turn to my box to help me, but I couldn't. I was listening to myself too much. It was really hard for me.

I'm happy. If you look at the entire match, the first set I played very well. I was really in the match. She is not necessarily very good on clay because the balls are very heavy and hard.

Second set I had a match point. I lost the second set. I was going too fast. I can't say that I was negative, but I was less calm. I impressed myself because in the third set it's not easy to stay cool because we know the stakes are high.

I'm happy to have made it through, and I'm very proud of it, because it wasn't easy for me to have this attitude to stay positive and say, Okay, you're starting from zero, it's one set all, don't let anything go. You have a wild card, you know you can win the match, try to stay positive and fight for it.

I'm very happy to have won.

Q. At this point in your career, what does this third round mean for you?

ELSA JACQUEMOT: Well, it means a lot, yet not a lot at the same time because I have big ambitions. I'm happy. It's the first time in my career I'm in the third round of a Grand Slam. It's in France. It's in Roland, so it makes me happy. The crowd is really backing us. It's cool. I love it.

But I don't want to stop there. I don't want to just overthink it, think you're in the third round. Just say you got another match, you're lucky enough to play another match. I'm playing against a French player who is the same age as me. I just need to be at my best for the third round.

Q. You just said you will be playing against a French player who you know well. Can you talk to us about your relationship? Do you train together sometimes?

ELSA JACQUEMOT: Actually we rarely train together. Sometimes we train together, but it's very rare. How am I going to approach this match? It's not easy to play against a French player at Roland because the crowd won't be behind me as much. I think it will be quite equal between both players.

I'm not saying I'm the favorite for this match. I'm just going to give it my all. I'm going to give it my all for this match. I'm going to play point by point and try to win.

Q. You and Lois were both wild cards. Does this mean there's extra pressure to thank the federation for having had this wild card, therefore to not disappoint them?

ELSA JACQUEMOT: Well, I was asked this question the day before yesterday. Yes, I'm very happy to have had this wild card because it's thanks to this that I'm here in the third round.

But I don't want to put the pressure on myself. Say, What will they think if I don't play well? I'm thinking, Think about your game, think about yourself, think about doing well on the court, then I think people will be happy for me.

I think wild cards, the stakes, all of the stress, I won't feel good on the court. I'll be stressed. That's not what I want.

Q. Considering that you're playing against Lois, that means there will be a French player in the round of 16. You're both young. French women's tennis has been criticized recently. Not a lot of players in the top 100. Do you think it's the beginning of something or is it too new to say you're there to take over?

ELSA JACQUEMOT: Well, yes there's a lot of criticism, but also a lot of people encouraging us. We can't do anything about it. If they criticize us, they criticize us.

I'm going to focus on myself and say that I'm playing against a French tennis player, so a French tennis player will be winning. I hope it will be me.

Anyway, we all play well. It's a sport that is not easy. That's what I think.

Q. On the match against Lois, what will be the keys to winning? What will you have to do?

ELSA JACQUEMOT: Well, you take me by surprise because I just finished the last match and I want to enjoy it. There was a lot of emotion today.

I'm not going to think about it too much this evening. I'm going to think about it tomorrow. She's a good player, I'm a good player. Two French players in the third round in Roland. For both of us, it's our first third round in a Grand Slam. There are lots of things to manage.

It will be a good match. I don't know if we get to play on a big court or not. I hope so. It would be great.

Right now I want to enjoy this moment with the people around me and say, Cool, you had a great win. Then tomorrow I'll think about how I'm going to play against Lois.

I think the most important thing about that match is for me to focus on myself, my game, because I'm going to think about how Lois plays, her strong and weak points.

The most important thing about that is how I will approach the match and how I will play.

Q. Your ambitions, the pathway hasn't been long through the juniors...

ELSA JACQUEMOT: There have been some difficult times. At the beginning, I thought it would be easy. There was no competition. Then I had some defeats. It wasn't easy for me.

I think that what's important is to get up after this and say you're allowed to lose, although it's not easy psychologically. Is the pathway long? I think we each have our own pathway. I'm not old. I'm only 22. I'm not saying there's a long pathway between my juniors and now.

I think that's the pathway I've come on. I want to play in the top 100, top 50 and top 10. But I try to be positive and say, Okay, this is my current ranking, I'm worth it, I'm going to work even harder to get over the next hurdle.

Q. You said you wanted to play on a big court. Is there one you prefer?

ELSA JACQUEMOT: Chatrier is not bad. Honestly it doesn't matter. I would prefer to play on a small court. Even if we say on a small court, we're still in Roland and the crowd will be out there. I will be happy.

Q. You said that you didn't often train with Lois, that you come from the same place, unless I'm mistaken. You were in the Lyon region and you're from the same generation. As a kid, you must have played against each other often.

ELSA JACQUEMOT: Well, it's true that when we were small I didn't see Lois very often. We've been seeing each other more recently. When we were little, we weren't together very often. It's true that we're from the same area. Each of our projects were away from home. It's hard to train together.

It's true, we rarely trained together. I have a preference. I like to play against boys.

Q. (No microphone.)

ELSA JACQUEMOT: Young? Did I play against her? I don't know.