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Alizé Lim – Overview
Alizé Lim (born 13 July 1990 in Paris, France) is a French professional tennis player, media presenter and commentator. A 1.73 m right-hander with a two-handed backhand, she reached career-high WTA rankings of No. 135 in singles in May 2014 and No. 148 in doubles in November 2016. Lim played four consecutive Roland Garros singles main draws from 2014 to 2017, reached the quarterfinals of a WTA 125 tournament and won an ITF singles title. Although her ranking subsequently fell sharply and her career increasingly shifted toward broadcasting, she has continued playing competitively: after substantial activity in 2024 and 2025 she was still competing in 2026 at age 36.
Background
Lim was born and raised in Paris. She has French and Vietnamese family heritage and began playing tennis as a child. She developed through the French system before spending important periods training at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy.
Her personality, multilingual background and ease in front of cameras later helped her establish a second career in sports media while still playing competitive tennis.
Playing Profile
Lim is approximately 1.72–1.73 m tall and plays right-handed with a two-handed backhand. Her career results show considerable versatility: although clay has produced the majority of her victories, she has also accumulated substantial numbers of wins on outdoor and indoor hard courts.
She is primarily a baseline player but has generally relied more on timing, movement, variety and point construction than overwhelming power. Her willingness to alter pace and trajectory was particularly useful on clay.
Early Professional Career
Lim began playing ITF professional tournaments as a teenager. Her first years were spent almost entirely at lower-level events in France and elsewhere in Europe, gradually improving from a year-end ranking of No. 973 in 2008 to No. 300 in 2010.
By 2011 she had reached a season-high ranking of No. 207, establishing herself as a serious ITF-level professional. After a relatively limited 2012 season she made another significant advance in 2013, reaching No. 156 and finishing the year at No. 158.
Breakthrough and Career High – 2014
The strongest ranking period of Lim's career came during the first half of 2014. She entered the year around No. 158 and steadily climbed toward the Top 150, reaching her career-high singles ranking of world No. 135 on 26 May 2014.
The timing coincided with the most prominent tournament appearance of her career: her first Grand Slam singles main draw at Roland Garros.
Roland Garros Debut Against Serena Williams – 2014
Lim received a wildcard into the 2014 French Open and was handed an exceptionally difficult first-round draw against world No. 1 and defending champion Serena Williams on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Williams won 6–2, 6–1, but Lim created seven break-point opportunities and saved four match points before losing after 78 minutes. It was Lim's first Grand Slam main-draw match and placed her in the international spotlight despite the defeat.
WTA Tour Results
Lim never reached a WTA singles final, but she recorded several main-draw victories. Her best results at regular WTA level were appearances in the round of 16.
At Båstad in 2015 she defeated Nuria Llagostera Vives before losing to Yulia Putintseva. Other WTA main-draw appearances included Bucharest, Québec City and several French events where she entered through qualifying or wildcards.
2015 Season
Lim experienced considerable ranking fluctuation during 2015. After falling outside the Top 300 in the spring, she produced a strong summer and autumn recovery, climbing back to No. 154 by November.
She recorded approximately 31 singles victories during the season, one of her highest annual totals, and reached the second half of the year in much stronger form than she had begun it.
Roland Garros – 2015 to 2017
Lim received Roland Garros singles wildcards in four consecutive years. After facing Serena Williams in 2014, she lost to Andreea Mitu in 2015, Camila Giorgi in 2016 and Magda Linette in 2017.
She therefore finished her French Open singles career with an 0–4 main-draw record. Nevertheless, four consecutive appearances at her home Grand Slam represent an important part of her professional résumé.
Doubles at Roland Garros
Lim also appeared repeatedly in the Roland Garros women's doubles competition. She played the doubles main draw in 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.
She did not progress beyond the opening round, but these appearances contributed to a period in which she was active in both singles and doubles at France's principal tournament.
Doubles Career
Lim's doubles ranking peaked at world No. 148 in November 2016. Her strongest doubles period therefore coincided with the latter part of her singles peak.
She did not win a WTA doubles championship or reach a Grand Slam doubles final, but played extensively on the ITF circuit and accumulated considerably more doubles experience than her Grand Slam results alone suggest.
2016–17
Lim reached a season-high singles ranking of No. 147 in 2016 and finished the year at No. 213. In 2017 she improved again, producing approximately 24 victories and reaching a season high of No. 214.
Her best WTA 125 performance came in 2017, when she reached a quarterfinal. She also won an ITF singles title in Turin and reached finals at Santa Margherita di Pula and Tampico, making 2017 one of the most productive tournament seasons of her career.
ITF Singles Career
Lim's principal professional singles championship came on the ITF circuit. She won the Turin tournament in 2017 and reached several other finals, including Campinas in 2018 and Sumter in 2020.
Her career statistics are more impressive than her single title might suggest. Broader match records credit her with more than 400 singles victories, including roughly 250 on clay, more than 100 on outdoor hard courts and over 40 indoors.
Ranking Decline – 2018 to 2022
After her peak years, Lim gradually moved away from the upper levels of professional tennis. Her season-high singles rankings fell from No. 273 in 2018 to No. 400 in 2019 and No. 543 in 2020.
She still played substantial schedules, recording approximately 19 victories in 2018, 21 in 2019 and nine in the pandemic-affected 2020 season. She reached the Sumter final in 2020.
Lim climbed back as high as No. 620 in 2021 and played another limited season in 2022 before largely disappearing from the conventional professional circuit in 2023.
Return to Competition – 2024 and 2025
Lim subsequently made an unusual competitive return. Broader match records show approximately 21 victories from 34 matches in 2024, predominantly on clay, despite her WTA ranking being outside the Top 1000.
Her activity increased again in 2025, when she recorded approximately 22 victories against 17 defeats. Her WTA ranking recovered from a 2024 season high of No. 1196 to a 2025 high of No. 643, and she finished 2025 around No. 651.
2026 Season and Current Status
Lim has continued playing in 2026 at age 36. The official WTA ranking history shows a season high of No. 628 in February and rankings generally between approximately No. 630 and No. 660 during the following months.
Her broader 2026 results show continued tournament activity rather than a formal retirement. Although the WTA profile currently displays an “Inactive” label, she has played competitive matches during the season. She should therefore be regarded as a veteran player with a selective schedule rather than as definitively retired.
Grand Slam Record
Australian Open – No singles main-draw appearance
Roland Garros – First round (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
Wimbledon – No singles main-draw appearance
US Open – No singles main-draw appearance
Grand Slam singles main-draw record – 0–4
Best Grand Slam singles result – First round, Roland Garros
Roland Garros doubles appearances – 2011, 2013–17
All four of Lim's Grand Slam singles main-draw appearances came at Roland Garros. Her 2014 encounter with Serena Williams remains by far the most widely remembered major match of her career.
Career Rankings and Statistics
Full name – Alizé Lim
Born – 13 July 1990, Paris, France
Nationality – French
Height – approximately 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Plays – Right-handed, two-handed backhand
Career-high singles ranking – No. 135 (26 May 2014)
Career-high doubles ranking – No. 148 (2016)
Best year-end singles ranking – No. 154 (2015)
Grand Slam singles appearances – 4
Grand Slam singles record – 0–4
Best WTA 125 singles result – Quarterfinal (2017)
ITF singles titles – 1
Career singles victories – more than 400 when lower-level and qualifying matches are included
Career prize money – approximately US$505,000
2026 singles ranking – approximately No. 650–700 during much of the season
Current status – Competitively active on a selective schedule
Media and Broadcasting Career
Lim has become particularly well known in France beyond her playing career through television and sports broadcasting. As her full-time tournament schedule decreased, she developed into a presenter, interviewer and tennis analyst.
Her experience as an active professional gives her broadcasting work a player's perspective, and she has covered major tennis events while maintaining links with the professional circuit. This dual identity – professional player and media personality – has become increasingly central to her public career.
Public Profile
Lim has long had a higher public profile than her career-high ranking might normally generate. Her Paris background, Roland Garros appearances, encounter with Serena Williams and later television career made her familiar to French tennis audiences.
Unlike many players who simply disappear from competitive tennis after moving into broadcasting, Lim has repeatedly returned to tournament play. Her 2024–26 results demonstrate that competitive tennis has remained part of her life well into her mid-thirties.
Career Assessment
Alizé Lim's playing career is best understood as that of a strong ITF and lower-level WTA professional who came close to the Top 100 without quite reaching it. Her peak ranking of No. 135, four Roland Garros singles main draws, WTA main-draw victories and more than 400 recorded singles wins represent a substantial professional career even though she never won a WTA title or a Grand Slam main-draw match.
Her most prominent playing moment came immediately upon her Grand Slam debut in 2014, when she faced world No. 1 Serena Williams on Philippe-Chatrier. The subsequent years brought a career-high doubles ranking of No. 148, an ITF title, a WTA 125 quarterfinal and repeated appearances at Roland Garros.
What makes Lim's career particularly distinctive is its longevity and its overlap with broadcasting. After her ranking had fallen outside the conventional professional-tour range, she remained involved in tennis as a media personality while continuing to compete. Her renewed tournament activity in 2024, 2025 and 2026 means that, at 36, she remains an unusual example of a player combining an established post-playing media career with continuing competitive tennis.
all texts by ChatGPT