Félix is not the only aliass aiming for the top of the world tennis rankings. Her cousin Leylatou is only 13 years old, but she already dreams of being “the best player in the world”.
“It’s been my dream since I was little and I think I’ll make it because I work very, very hard,” the teenager confidently adds.
Photo Stevens Leblanc
Leylatou Aliassime answers questions from journalists during the “Media Day” organized as part of the Quebec Junior Tennis Tournament.
Like other athletes who will take part in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior tournament presented this week at Club Avantage Multi-Sports in Quebec, Leylatou met with journalists, including the top professionals, on Monday as part of a “media day”. belong on the planet dedicate themselves.
It was a first for the player with the well-known family name, who will also play her first ITF tournament in Quebec City thanks to the passport she received. The event is organized by Aliassime Academy, run by her uncle Sam, where she has been training for several years.
Photo Stevens Leblanc
Canada Davis Cup team captain Frank Dancevic laughs next to Sam Aliassime, Félix’s father. Dancevic is in Quebec to advise young players he is coaching.
The aim is to give him experience in a junior draw that in singles for the second edition of the event will bring together 32 boys and 24 girls from Quebec, Canada but also from around the world and will compete until Saturday.
She’s ‘proud of her name’
And despite his young age, Leylatou obviously knew how to behave in front of the press.
Which seems a bit normal if we trust his explanations. Because when the teenager isn’t asking her cousin for advice — “he has his tournaments and his coaches, I have my tournaments and my coaches,” she insists — Aliassime has taken to listening to the interviews the Ninth has with him world gives around the world.
“I’ve always been proud of my last name. It doesn’t change anything for me, I’m still the same person, but seeing Félix win games makes me proud,” she smiled.
A family history (obviously)
Leylatou started playing tennis at the age of three. It was love at first sight from the start; a love story to which her father, who played tennis at an academy before immigrating to Togo, and her sister made major contributions.
“Tennis has always run in the family, she obviously notes. I’ve always loved to play, but what attracted me the most when I started was the competition. Ever since then, I have never wanted to stop fighting for a ball!”
Back home in Quebec, Aliassime is looking for experience. This will be his first encounter with “bigger, older” girls. But despite feeling “a little stressed” on the eve of her comeback in singles, her goal was clear (and ambitious): “I want to win!”
Also on the floor
She doesn’t hide it: Anyone who bears the family name of one of the biggest stars in men’s tennis does not go unnoticed. “Of course people see me differently, but I don’t, even though I’m a household name in the tennis industry,” she said.
And Leylatou does not only have this sovereignty, which we spoke to you about at the beginning, in his answers. She describes her game as “aggressive”. “I like attacking, forcing myself onto the ground,” explains Aliassime.
“Oh yeah. Wait ’til you see her on the field…” smiles alongside Mr. Tennis in Quebec, Jacques Hérisset, who is still a volunteer at Aliassime Academy.
▶ The ITF J3 Sports Experts de Québec tournament singles draw began on Monday. Montreal’s Sarah L’Allier is the second pick for the girls. For her part, Quebec’s Joliane Côté secured her place in the big picture by winning all of her qualifiers. Free admission.
▶ There was a big visit to Quebec: Frank Dancevic, the Davis Cup captain who led Canada to great honors last November, was present at Club Avantage to advise the young players he coaches.