Before the French Open, most tennis fans didn't know the name of the player. Many of her peers did not know much about her. The world No. 227 had never played in the main draw of a tour-level event, let alone a major, and had never competed against anyone ranked in the top 50.
This week, everything changed. No one will forget her name soon.
Jeanjean, a wild card at the French Open, defeated Nuria Parrizas Diaz in the first round. She upset the former world No. 1 in the second round of the French Open. It was the biggest win of her career, and the latest stop on one of the more unconventional journeys on tour.
Jeanjean was once a promising young French junior player but had her professional dreams derailed due to a serious knee injury. She decided to play collegiately in the United States after being out of the sport for a while. She played her freshman season at Baylor before moving to Arkansas and then playing at Lynn, a Division II school.
The path from college to the pros remains unusual, despite the recent success of former NCAA players such as Danielle Collins and Cameron Norrie. Is it possible to jump from a Division II program? That is nearly unheard of.
It was her time at Lynn that made Jeanjean realize she wasn't done with her tennis dreams. She was named the ITA Senior Player of the Year and the Sunshine State Conference Female Athlete of the Year during her senior year.
After her win over Pli, Jeanjean said she was thinking about trying to play a few ITF tournaments.
With the win, Jeanjean is expected to move up. She would enter the top 120 if she defeated Begu. She is already a member of an exclusive club of athletes who have made the leap from DII to big league success. Some athletes have done that in the past.
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