Katy Dunne won't let Wimbledon Qualifying defeat dampen day
And having rediscovered her love for the sport, Dunne believes that the only thing that matters at the end of the day is enjoying yourself to the fullest.
"I'm disappointed that I lost but I'm happy to have been here and played," said Dunne. "After Wimbledon last year I had to have shoulder surgery and I wasn't sure if I'd get back to playing so it's been nice to get back here competing so I'm happier than I feel should be for losing a match!
"It was difficult and there were a lot of lows when trying to come back, a lot of doubt. Definitely sometimes as tennis players we associate our whole personas with tennis and when that's taken away form us, it makes it pretty tough mentally.
"I still feel uncomfortable on the court but I've loved being out there in front of the crowd again and enjoying the stuff I was doing.
It's about trying not to judge yourself too much when coming back.
"There've been a lot of lows and I didn't expect to have this type of high so soon afterwards. In that sense, it's been nice to have and to enjoy over the last few days."
Dunne's battle with Cornet rounded off an action-packed programme of grass court tennis in Roehampton, but while her contest against the Frenchwoman ended sooner than she would've liked, Dunne was delighted at the chance to showcase that she still has what it takes to compete at this level.
Dunne added: Cornet makes you work for the points. She's very smart with how she plays. She makes it difficult for you to find your game sometimes with her slices.
"Both of us were giving each other a run for our money with the drop shots but it was just a fun match to play with nothing to lose.
"She's been such a great player and it was a privilege to play against her.
"I definitely wouldn't be coming back if I didn't love competing which I still do and I'm going to keep going and end my career on my own terms when I'm healthy and not enjoying it as much as I do right now."
For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA website
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
20 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Meet the Lionesses super-fan who spends thousands travelling the world to cheer them on - and even has her own themed pub in her garden!
A Lionesses super-fan says she spends £4,000 a year following England and Arsenal. Zoe Bleach, 42, has even installed a £3,000 pub in her back garden, dubbed The Lionesses Den, to cheer them on from Gravesend, Kent, when she's not travelling. She has a collection of Lionesses memorabilia worth around £1,000 - a dream for a lady who fell in love with the beautiful game aged two. Bleach speaks ahead of Tuesday night's semi-final clash with Italy, as research from Amazon's Chatterbox series shows a quarter of British women (25%) believe football is what the UK does best. 'I would say I spend £4,000 a year supporting the Arsenal and England women's teams - the game tickets and travelling all add up,' she said. 'For Euro 2022 I booked tickets for most of the games including the final. I basically took a whole month off to watch the Lionesses. England will play Italy on Tuesday night as they bid for a place in the final of the women's Euros 'I went to Brighton twice, Southampton, Northern Ireland and to Wembley. I spent around £2,000 travelling and buying merchandise on that tournament alone. 'My biggest ever football trip was in 2003, when I travelled to the USA and went on a 16-hour road trip between Mississippi and Washington DC to watch five professional women's soccer matches played in the WUSA league. 'I met Kelly Smith there, and I've never been so starstruck in all my life. I couldn't even remember my name. I didn't know my name, I didn't know where I was from. 'She came and spoke to us for about 10 minutes. It was such a surreal moment in my life. I was so excited to meet her because she was my idol. She is absolutely the best player in the world.' In 2023, Bleach and her partner Elizabeth spent five months building The Lionesses Den to watch the Women's World Cup, where England finished runners-up to Spain. 'It cost us about £3,000 and we have signed shirts from Beth Mead and Kelly Smith, signed autographs from Lucy Bronze and Mary Earps and pictures of me with Leah Williamson. 'The whole collection is probably worth around £1,000. 'It might have been a lot to spend, but we use the pub easily once or twice a week and we love it. I don't regret a single penny I've spent supporting the Lionesses.'
Daily Record
21 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Josh Taylor backed for boxing Hall of Fame as Carl Frampton demands more recognition for 'unbelievable' era
Frampton ranks Taylor alongside Oleksandr Usyk and Vasily Lomachenko after the Tartan Tornado announced his retirement Carl Frampton insists Josh Taylor deserves to be inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame for his "unbelievable" run as undisputed world champion. The Tartan Tornado announced his retirement from boxing this week on medical grounds following a persistent eye injury. Taylor won silver and gold medals for Scotland at the Commonwealth Games before going on to become the first and only British male fighter to win all four titles in the same weight division. Now former Cyclone stablemate Frampton - himself a two-weight world champ - has called for Taylor to receive more recognition for what he achieved in the ring, ranking him alongside current undisputed world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and and former three-weight world champ and fellow Ukrainian Vasily Lomachenko. "Josh should be proud of everything he's done in his career, especially becoming an undisputed champion," said The Jackal. "We see how much of a big deal it is that people make of the undisputed heavyweight champion when Oleksandr Usyk beat Daniel Dubois at the weekend. Josh Taylor was undisputed in 18 fights - that's unbelievable. Hard to fathom, really. "So I think that's what people should remember Josh for. It literally doesn't happen unless you're someone like a Vasiliy Lomachenko or a Usyk or someone like that. That's the calibre of fighter that achieves this . "Josh Taylor becoming undisputed champion in 18 fights in a marquee division, not down at light-flyweight where nobody fights or anything like that, a marquee division, should be recognised as one of the great British sporting feats ever. "Undisputed light-welterweight champion in 18 fights is Hall of Fame behaviour, I think." Frampton says he still gets on well with Taylor, despite going their separate ways when Framptin left Cyclone amid a bitter legal battle with promoter and manager Barry McGuigan. "I was there the whole way, pretty much," Frampton told BBC Scotland. "Josh is a great friend of mine and he's a good person as well. And he does a lot of good things behind the scenes, which people don't see. Josh is just a good fella. "I'm very, very proud that I was able to witness some of his greatness up close and personal."
BBC News
22 minutes ago
- BBC News
'More entertaining and competitive than expected'
2009 British and Irish Lion Ugo Monye at Marvel Stadium - "There was only one side in it for the first 20 minutes and only one side in it for the second 20."We haven't had many competitive games on this tour but I'm glad we've got this one tonight."It's definitely more entertaining and competitive than what I was expecting."
