"Wish current female players would be as vocal" "An icon" - Fans impressed by Alize Cornet throwing shade at Alexander Zverev before French Open final

Alize Cornet laid bare her support for Carlos Alcaraz while throwing shade at Alexander Zverev ahead of the 2024 French Open men's singles final. Alcaraz would eventually go on to claim his maiden French Open title on Sunday, June 9, after a 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 win over the German.

Meanwhile, Cornet's shade at Zverev earned the Frenchwoman respect from the majority of tennis fans in the aftermath of the final.

Zverev's run to the final of this year's French Open was marred by controversy due to the German's domestic abuse trial in a Berlin court, which began on Friday, May 31, and concluded just over a week later on the next Friday, June 7. The trial was a result of Zverev appealing against a penalty order given to him last year by the Tiergarten District Court in Berlin.

The German's ex-girlfriend Brenda Patea, who is also the mother of his 3-year-old daughter Mayla, had alleged that Zverev had pushed and strangled her during an argument between the pair in 2020.

The public trial was eventually discontinued after Patea sought an early end to proceedings. An out-of-court settlement followed, which saw Zverev agreeing to pay €150,000 to the German state treasury and €50,000 to charities.

Cornet, who recently retired after her French Open campaigns in singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles, minced no words when she was asked who she would be supporting in the men's singles final. The former WTA World No. 11 said that her "heart" wanted Alcaraz to win the French Open title. She added that she has several reasons for not being a Zverev fan, as she hinted at the German's off-court controversies without mentioning them.

"My heart wants Carlos to win because I’m a fan of his since he started out, and less of a Zverev fan for many more reasons," Cornet told France 2.

Tennis fans on Reddit were impressed by Cornet's statement. One set of fans lauded her for it, also wishing that other players on the WTA Tour would be more vocal about the issue.

"She’s an icon. She’s one of us.Wish the current female players would be as vocal. I guess they have to see him in the big tournaments," one fan wrote.

"Alize always with the correct take. Always. Awesome woman," commented another fan.

"In her "I’m retired, I can speak more freely” era," another fan weighed in.

"Lol she really said “My heart says Carlos, my head says f Zverev”," wrote yet another fan.

"I used to dismiss Cornet as a drama queen. I now bow to my queen. Hope she stays around tour and dishing out hot takes," another fan added.

Another set of fans recalled past instances of Cornet speaking out on controversial issues in tennis.

"I’ll always remember the beautiful things she said about Jelena Dokic during the on court interview at AO, she’s definitely a real one," wrote a fan, remembering the Frenchwoman's 2022 Australian Open tribute to Dokic, who had accused her father of physical and mental abuse in her 2017 autobiography.

"What a lady! She was also one of the first players to speak out about the Peng Shuai situation as well," another fan commented, revisiting Cornet's 2023 withdrawal from all tennis tournaments in China to draw attention to Shuai's case. Shuai went missing in November 2021, soon after accusing a high-ranking Chinese politician of sexual assault.

Iga Swiatek had criticized the ATP Tour for promoting Alexander Zverev earlier this year

Iga Swiatek at a press conference

During a press conference at the 2024 Australian Open, reigning WTA World No. 1 Iga Swiatek was critical of the ATP Tour after Zverev was made a member of the ATP Players' Council despite the serious nature of the charges against him.

"For sure it's not good when a player who's facing charges like that is kind of being promoted. I don't know what the result of the investigation or the case is going to be. I'm also not sure what's the history in terms of the other cases that he had. I don't know if he won or lost. I guess you have to ask ATP what they want to do with that 'cause I'm not in the right position to judge," Swiatek said.

Zverev himself though has continued to maintain his innocence. After the discontinuation of his trial, he even told the media during a presser to not ask him questions related to the trial anymore.