At Roland Garros,
Will Varvara Gracheva remember the day when she received jacket n°57 of Billie Jean’s French King Cup team like the one where she really felt French for the first time? Unless it was her first round at Roland-Garros against Maria Sakkari, when this voice coming from the stands of the Simmone-Mathieu court told her “this is your home.”
“Yes, I feel more and more at home. Playing here gives me even more motivation. I love playing in France, for the public and for my team too,” she confided after her unexpected victory in France which is clearly progressing, as highlighted by the player and France TV consultant Marine Partaud, with whom she is trained several times. “She speaks fluently now. She is fluent in French. And even if it makes a few syntax errors, it still remains very coherent. She worked a lot. »
As much out of perfectionism as out of necessity regarding the tests linked to his application for naturalization, obtained in June 2023. “When I was training him, we worked together on that, I tried to speak as much as possible in French and more broadly to help her learn the language, remembers Xavier Pujo, the man who brought her to her best ranking (39th). She understood it but she didn’t speak it at all. She wasn’t making much of an effort. »
“Every time she has points to defend, she plays well”
Just as she would never have thought of launching the naturalization process if Jean-René Lisnard, her mentor and surrogate father, had not suggested the idea to her several years ago, in the interests of administrative simplification. “ [Les Russes] need visas to travel to all countries, it’s hell, the Monegasque told us a few months ago. Varvara has lived here for seven years, she has acquired accommodation, she pays her bills… it was natural for her to do so, it is her adopted country. »
“ I don’t have the impression that she’s a patriot in one sense or the other, Pujo clutches. When she played during the Fed Cup, she was super happy to play for a team, but not specifically for France, even if there are lots of things she likes in France. She left home very young. She is of Russian origin without being pro-Russian. She is one of those somewhat uprooted players. » »
We rewind. Varvara Gracheva was 14 years old when she left Russia with her mother, who introduced her to tennis. In Portugal, she will meet former player Nina Bratchikova with whom she will collaborate for a time in Germany. The former player then arrives as a complete stranger at the Elite Tennis Center in Lisnard, accompanied by her mother. She is 17 years old. “It’s a good opportunity that fell out of the blue,” explains the boss. She was a good player, as you can find quite a few among young people at international level. So we didn’t take it until a place became available with us. As her mother was still working, she entrusted Varvara to us a little, in a way. We managed his whole life, his career, his thing. »
A luxury daycare that becomes a place of refuge when things go wrong, which is quite common when your name is Gracheva, a strong character. “A complex character, which Jean-René understood best”, according to Pujo and not entirely focused on emotional or sporting constancy. “Every time she is in danger in terms of rankings, and she has points to defend, she starts playing very well,” points out another former coach, Gérard Solvès. Nothing surprising in her victory against a top 10 when she herself flirts dangerously with the red zone, outside the top 100.
An artist not always easy to manage
Appearances are deceiving, especially when you know how to take care of them. Until proven otherwise, the Frenchwoman will bring to the eyes of the Roland-Garros public the face of sympathy, that observed during her post-victory speech after her first round. Marine Partaud shares this impression. “She is friendly and open, very pleasant and always smiling. » The speeches of the coaches who attended her are more nuanced. “She is an extremely kind player off the field,” recognizes Gérard Solvès. On the pitch, she sometimes seeks a bit of conflict with the coach. So it’s not always easy. »
“ She can be really harsh towards those close to her and her team, testifies Xavier Pujo, always looking for answers. In the dialogue about her tennis, she has a little difficulty communicating when we go to pick her up. She is into things that are a little irrational. » »
His artistic side, perhaps. Very keen on drawing, Gracheva often carries around a small notebook in which she takes notes or indulges in her graphic inspirations as emotions dictate. “We don’t always understand what she says, so you have to know how to understand it. For us, it is in the relationship and in the communication that we got lost,” judges Pujo.
As far as tennis was concerned, it wasn’t too bad. The protégé of Lisnard has never been as successful as under the authority of the now trainer Alexandre Muller, with whom she learned to perfect her hand and get out of a game that was sometimes too stereotypical (“she started from zero on this point “). For the rest, we’ve had worse. Equipped with a big drum designed for long baseline rallies and with no real weak points, it has “the potential for a future top 30”, says Marine Partaud. Which could very quickly make her the French number one, at the rate things are going in her new country.