Val de Marne Preview: Gomez – My Outlook On Life Has Changed

The second event of the week is the Codep94 Val de Marne International, which will be played in Creteil, France, and it will feature a somewhat international field.

The women’s Challenger 10 level tournament is restricted to cross-border participation, with those currently residing in Andorra, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Spain and Switzerland, along with the host nation France, were allowed to enter.

French World No.48 Enora Villard will be the top seed for the tournament on home soil, with compatriot Marie Stephan also inside the top four seeds. They are joined by Latvian no.1 Ineta Mackevica and Switzerland’s Nadia Pfister. The Spanish duo of Cristina Gomez and Sofia Mateos, along with Frenchwomen Elise Romba and Fanny Segers, make up the rest of the top eight seeds.

We spoke to Spanish No.1 Gomez prior to the event, and she is happy with where her game is at and that the pandemic has changed her outlook on life.

“Due to the pandemic, something in me changed and I began to enjoy every moment both inside and outside the court,” the Spaniard said.

“I thought, if I dedicate myself to what I like the most, why not enjoy every second with it? I’ve reduced the hours of training due to the incentive for the competition calendar but not the quality of the training sessions.

“That is helping me to dedicate to myself a little more (university, friends, cooking). If you trust and enjoy what you do, you will do your best on court until the end.

Gomez is the Spanish No.1 and currently occupies the World No.83 position in the World Rankings. She is excited to get back on court for only the second time since the Tour was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“My main goal is to enjoy the chance of playing my second PSA tournament after more than a year without competing. My other goal is to play as I’m doing so far and the results will come itself,” she said.

“I’m proud to be the No.1 in Spain but defending this position means being under pressure. As professional players we must handler the pressure. A champion is not the one who wins a match one day. A champion is the one who wins a higher percentage of matches.

“I think I’m in my best moment of my career. I should play more PSA tournaments and also I should improve physically and mentally. Sometimes physical strength is not all we need to win.”

The event takes place from Friday 16 to Sunday 18 at the Centre Marie Therese in Creteil, France. Follow the PSA Challenger Tour on Twitter and Facebook for daily updates from the event.

First Round Draw: Codep94 Val de Marne International
[1] Enora Villard (FRA) – [Bye]
[9/16] Taba Taghavi (FRA) – [Bye]
[9/16] Ninon Lemarchand (FRA) v Katerina Tycova (GER)
[6] Sofia Mateos (ESP) – [Bye]
[8] Fanny Segers (FRA) – [Bye]
[9/16] Lea Barbeau (FRA)
[9/16] Aylin Gunsav (GER) v Mahe Asensi (FRA)
[3] Nadia Pfister (SUI) – [Bye]
[4] Marie Stephan (FRA) – [Bye]
Rose Lucas Marcuzzo (FRA) v [9/16] Ella Galova (FRA)
[9/16] Saskia Beinhard (GER) v Lilou Brevard-Belliot (FRA)
[7] Elise Romba (FRA) – [Bye]
[5] Cristina Gomez (ESP) – [Bye]
Jeanne Dael (BEL) v [9/16] Yuna Loaec (FRA)
[9/16] Alina Poessl (SUI) v Melissa Mebarek (FRA)
[2] Ineta Mackevica (LAT) – [Bye]