The Spanish Queen made the perfect entrance in Coubertin

7 times European Champion has arrived in Paris pretty optimistic. During yesterday’s press conference, she appeared calm and aware of her body’s capacities.

“I’m happy to be back in Paris. This is always a special tournament for me. I have no specific goal for this week. I will take one match at a time. I want to stay focus as much as possible.”

Today, she stepped on court with such a warm welcome from the crowd at Stade Pierre de Coubertin. Indeed, her fight spirit is very appreciated from the fans around the world. On court 1, the 2022 European Champion faced the Chinese, ZHANG YI. They met in Japan last summer and the Spanish actually won their 3 last meetings. Having this advantage is mentally crucial before the match.

Today, the Chinese made very little errors and it was clearly not easy for Carolina. But her experience helped her to stay focused during the key moments of the match. Even if ZHANG Yi was leading the score almost the entire game Carolina managed to stay focused until the end of the first game. She marked 4 points in a row and took the first one: 21/18.

The second game was not easy either. In fact, the Chinese show a fighting spirit that was very hard to handle for Carolina. However, the strong public support seemed to have made a difference for her.

The Spanish was way behind on the score (11/19) But she found a way to fight back and also saves 2 game points to secure her spot into second round. Winning the second game 23/21.

“I’m happy with the victory. It was very tough. After a second serious injury, I ask myself if I can really go back to my former top level. I work hard every day to be where I am now. So, I couldn’t say I’m lucky. Today was a challenge and I’m already focusing on the next one.

I’m very thankful for the crowd. I also have my family here, so I’m very happy.”

She will face the Indonesian Gregoria Mariska TUNJUNG (n°21) on Thursday.