Alize Cornet hits back at fan criticism of 'moonball rally' with Viktoriya Tomova at Strasbourg 2023

Alize Cornet defended her rally with Viktoriya Tomova, hitting back at fans who criticized the frequent usage of moonballs during the exchange.

On May 22, Cornet took on Tomova in her tournament opener at the WTA 250 Internationaux de Strasbourg. The Frenchwoman got off to a good start claiming the first set 6-3. However, Tomova bounced back strongly in the second to level the scores.

Cornet's struggles with her serve were apparent as she hit 13 double faults and gave away 17 break point opportunities over the course of the match. The 33-year-old's serving woes put her at a massive disadvantage, allowing Tomova to claim a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory.

When Tomova served for the match at 5-3, the pair engaged in a 38-shot rally which saw a considerable number of moonballs being exchanged before Cornet secured the point.

Tennis fans took to social media and poked fun at the "moonball rally," with one fan commenting that Cornet and Tomova deserved to be fined for the point.

"They deserve to be fined for this point," the fan posted.

Responding to the fan in question, Cornet sarcastically apologized for offending the fan's tennis sensibilities. She expressed her frustration with the criticism, stating that the rally was a result of the fatigue accumulated over a three-hour-long match.

"Sorry to hurt your tennis sensibility on this one and only point of the match but I guess you're just doing what you can after 3 HOURS of match," Cornet tweeted.

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Alize Cornet calls out "sad" scheduling of Italian Open women's final between Elena Rybakina and Anhelina Kalinina

Alize Cornet calls out the scheduling of the Italian Open women's final

Alize Cornet previously criticized the organizers of the recently concluded Italian Open for their scheduling of the women's final between Elena Rybakina and Anhelina Kalinina. The match which was scheduled to begin at 7:00 pm local time eventually commenced at 11:00 pm local time.

The final clash saw a series of postponements due to the rain-interrupted men's semifinal match between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev. The semifinal match which began at 4:25 pm local time, ended more than five hours later due to lengthy rain delays.

Cornet took to social media and expressed her disappointment regarding the scheduling of the final. She stated that it was "a little sad" to see the final of one of the biggest WTA events of the season starting at 11 pm, with no spectators in the stands. She also questioned why the women's final couldn't be held alongside the men's final the following day.

"A little sad to see that the women's final of one of the biggest @wta event of the season is starting at 11pm. Nobody in the stands of course, and not really cool for both players to start such an important match so late...Why not put both men and women's finals tomorrow?" she tweeted.

Alize Cornet's Rome campaign ended in disappointment as she was ousted from the tournament in the second round, losing to Qinwen Zheng in straight sets.