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Constance Levivier never expected to play tennis in the United States. But once the French native received an offer from head coach Shelly Jaudon to play at James Madison University, she couldn’t refuse.

“At first I wanted to stay at home,” Levivier said. “Then I realized it was an amazing opportunity that will open a lot of doors tennis-wise and academic-wise.”

Yet Levivier’s plans were forced to change. Two months before the 2023-24 season, Jaudon left James Madison to become the head coach at Kentucky and Levivier decommitted soon after. She turned to her agency to figure out her next move. Coincidentally, Syracuse head coach Younes Limam had worked with the agency previously and Levivier was introduced to him.

After weeks of Zoom calls, flights to watch her play and conversations with her family, Limam convinced Levivier to play for SU. By the time Levivier joined the team in January, the 2023–2024 season had already begun.

In her first season with Syracuse, Levivier has relied heavily on her relationships with Limam and fellow European teammates to smooth the transition. And though she’s seen mixed results, Levivier’s confidence never wavered.

Constance Levivier competes at a recent match for Syracuse. Levivier joined the team in January of 2024 after decommitting from James Madison University. Jack Henry | Staff Photographer

Growing up in Paris, Levivier watched her brothers and sisters play tennis and “just wanted to be with them.” She swam and played soccer and rugby, but she said tennis was her biggest passion.

Once she specialized in tennis, Levivier exploded onto the French tennis scene. She claimed French junior national titles in singles and doubles when she was just 13. Years later in 2022, Levivier competed in the 2022 Roland Garros Junior Championships. Facing another top player in the quarterfinals, Levivier lost 6-0 in the penultimate set and knew she had to rally.

“I just kind of hyped myself up and I won 6-4 in the last set … the comeback was pretty nice,” Levivier said.

While Levivier fell in the semifinals, the quarterfinal win solidified her belief she could compete professionally. At the time, playing in the U.S. never crossed her mind. She was taking classes at Centre National D’enseignement à Distance — the largest online university in Europe — before Jaudon reached out.

Jaudon’s pitch worked and Levivier signed a letter of intent to play for JMU in the summer of 2023. But after her initial plans were thrown out the window, she opted to continue her career in Syracuse.

The sophomore soon found herself in an unfamiliar environment thousands of miles away from home. Intense training and high-level tennis proved to be Levivier’s biggest adjustments, but her quick acclimation impressed Limam.

“(I’m) super proud of her and how she’s been handling everything,” Limam said. “Her work ethic, her personality and just making everyone around her better.”

.A week after Levivier landed in Syracuse, she was joined by Emilie Elde, a sophomore from Oslo, Norway. The two roomed together and instantly formed a close bond.

“(Levivier) helped me a lot the first couple of days,” Elde said. “I didn’t know anything about campus… it’s been really great to have good teammates.”

The two grew closer through pasta dinners and extensive conversations. Levivier and Elde’s bond helped them adjust to their unfamiliar environment.

On the court, Levivier and Elde have had different starts to their Syracuse careers. Elde consistently played in the No. 1 and 2 singles roles, while Levivier has found herself almost exclusively in the No. 6 spot. Levivier won her first two singles matches against Cornell and St. Bonaventure, but she dropped her last six matches.

Despite Levivier’s rough stretch, Limam has made sure to keep her confidence high. His biggest advice for Levivier is to remain patient, telling her she’s “knocking on the door” and that she “needs to be ready once it opens.”

Levivier’s journey the past nine months has been eventful. She didn’t plan on playing college in the U.S., nor did she think she would need to find a new school a few months later. Although her first season with Syracuse has been up-and-down, through the help of Limam, Levivier has kept her confidence high.

“He’s talked a lot about how positive we have to be … it doesn’t matter about the result… his motto is ‘give your best and the rest will follow,’” Levivier said.

Published on April 14, 2024 at 10:56 pm