Inspired by Novak Djokovic, Alizé Cornet incorporates visualization into meditation practice

Alizé Cornet’s journey into meditation has not only brought her peace—both on and off the court—but is also what inspired her to write her autobiography: Transcendence: Diary of a Tennis Addict.

Translated from its original French into English this summer, Cornet discussed her career and ever-evolving meditation practice during the US Open, and credited a fellow player with helping expand from stillness and breath work into full-blown visualization.

“When I heard Novak Djokovic talking about visualization,” she told me, “I told myself I needed to try.”

Cornet began meditating just before beginning to write what would become Transcendence, but has been putting pen to paper for as long as she can remember.

“I always kept diaries and also writing a lot of poems that range from when I was eight years old through when I was 25. Writing is a way for me to express myself, especially when I was going through tough times or not feeling happy on tour, which was unfortunately quite often.

“I thought that it might be cool for people to know what it’s like behind the scenes for tennis players. Writing the book felt like I was talking to someone, to the reader.”

Transcendence unfolds anachronistically, taking the reader on a journey through her vivid memories of life on tour—many of which came flooding back through the writing process itself.

“Everything is in my mind because my tennis life has been everything for me, and that helps the stories stay fresh. We live such intense lives as tennis players and it takes so much out of you that it’s hard to forget anything!”

Click here to order a copy of Transcendence.