Alizé Cornet has been named as the French captain of the Billie Jean King Cup team

PARIS AP Aliz Cornet has been named the French captain of the Billie Jean King Cup club a meager months after retiring as a participant The French tennis federation revealed the nomination on Sunday saying that Cornet stood out from other candidates because of her funding in French tennis her profile her motivation and her availability She replaces Julien Benneteau who held the role since The -year-old Cornet s roles also include preparing the French Olympic gang leading up to the Los Angeles Games in and the monitoring of national association players during competitions as well as overseeing the youth teams I appreciate the trust the federation has placed in me and I am determined to do everything I can to help our players reach their full prospective Cornet noted in a declaration My goal is to build a strong group spirit based on high standards solidarity and a passion for the French jersey Cornet retired from playing after losing in the first round at the French Open in May During a -year-career that saw her touted as a young prodigy Cornet reached a career-high ranking of No in and won six titles as a solid baseline athlete with a strong backhand She held the women s record for the majority consecutive Grand Slam tournaments played at a streak that ran from the Australian Open to this year s French Open A keen writer Cornet had her first novel La Valse des Jours Waltz of Days published in AP tennis https apnews com hub tennis Source