TT5 disabled tennis player Alexandra Saint-Pierre celebrated her winning move in the final of the World Disability Championships in Granada (Spain) on 12 November. The result of a dazzling four-year journey of physical exertion strengthened by a mind of steel. With her gold medal around her neck, at 24, Rouennaise, a member of the Tennis Club de Bois-Guillaume, is now aiming to qualify for the Paralympic Games in Paris in 2024.
Rebuilding through sport
Born in Flixecourt (80), Alexandra Saint-Pierre was already playing table tennis and preparing for a healthy career. Except that, after several illnesses, she was the victim of a first road accident in August 2017 that marked her deeply, followed by an assault at her school in February 2018: “I had a post-traumatic syndrome that is still in the I didn’t want to leave the house anymore,” recalls the young woman.
Misfortune would strike her again in October 2018. Alexandra is injured. The consequences of her are tragic as she finds herself confined to a wheelchair. After leaving the hospital, Picardy decided to settle in Rouen. In January 2019 she chose to return to sport and enrolled in SPO Rouen Table Tennis where she met her coach Guillaume Marais. Determine for the future…
“Sport has helped me recreate social ties and rebuild myself. Even though I had the basics of ping pong, I had to learn techniques with my wheelchair and figure out table height and field of view. It represented hours and hours of training from Monday to Friday. I owe all this to Guillaume. This is why he enrolled me on March 30, 2019 in a competition that I won.
A dazzling trajectory
On 18 May 2019, for her first French Championships in Roanne, Alexandra returned home with a bronze medal which “showed that efforts have paid off and given me ambitions for the future”. Noted, she obtained her registration in the list of high-level athletes at the French Handisport Federation (FFH). A few months later, she followed her coach to the Bois-Guillaume Tennis Club (near Rouen) where, already in her mind, the project for the Paris 2024 Olympics was being forged.
However, the health crisis will turn everything upside down: “it was a complicated period. I continued to train almost fifteen hours a week, but why? There was no longer any possibility to assess the level of him in comparison with the opponents, ”the table tennis recalls bitterly. But nothing shook Alexandra. As soon as she resumed competitions, the champion aligned her results with in particular six gold medals in international competitions out of seven participations: “It was my goal for 2021. It was written in my head. I wanted to do my best to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.”
Master the tension
Alexandra won her bet. From 6 to 12 November, Rouennaise lined up for the first time in mixed doubles with her compatriot Fabien Lamirault. The duo will go out immediately against the Turkish Abdullah Ozturck and Nergiz Altintas with the score of 3-0. Then, in the women’s doubles with her regular partner Flora Vautier, the Frenchwoman won a bronze medal following a 3-1 loss to Korea’s Jiyu Yoon/Young Jung “who were undoubtedly possible above us”.
It was as the No. 3 seed on Wednesday November 9 that Alexandra entered the women’s singles table. She then overcame Argentina’s Nayla Kuell in the quarterfinals “3-1 when I was very tense. I had a lot of problems getting started”. The score will be the same in 1/2 against her best opponent, Korea’s Sunghye Moon, seeded No. 2: “It’s the match I feared. We met four times and we were tied. It was the beauty that I prepared well. I leave there one more set. It was in my head, “recalls Alexandra.
But it still happens! Thus, for the final, the sportswoman found herself facing the Thai Panwas Ringam: “I have already won 3-2 at the French Open. He has a very special game. So despite my stress, I told myself we mustn’t waste our time. With a score of 3-0, Alexandra experienced this victory “as a liberation. You feel your heart beating for your first Marseillaise. I let a few tears flow, but mostly thought about my family, my coach and my journey. It’s a nice revenge.”
After a few days of rest, the sportswoman has already returned to training and is already registered for local competitions: “Now, for four years, I will be the target. Everyone will want to score against me [rires]. But, as Guillaume told me from the last point of the final, we don’t stop there ! We are preparing for the European Championships in England in September 2023 and especially the Paralympic Games Paris 2024. This is still my real goal. This gold medal will help me because today I enter the Elite list”. See you from August 28 to September 8, 2024!
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