Tennis is a sport where the mind plays a fundamental role, but Constant Lestienne takes mental strength to levels never seen before in the game: he uses his skills as a mentalist to gain an edge on the tennis court.
“I practise mentalism, reading minds. I analyse people’s body language. It helps me read my opponent on court,” Lestienne assures in this interview with CLAY, published collaboratively with RG Media.
The Frenchman is a unique figure on the ATP Tour. He’s not just an athlete — he’s also been a professional magician for the past decade. Magic is his second job: when tennis allows it, he works at corporate events, weddings, and parties, performing shows all over France. He’s also the mentor of his friend and compatriot Gael Monfils, who has been fascinated by the world of tricks and cards.
From there come his skills as a mentalist, which help him whenever he has a racquet in hand, he states: “For example, when I face a big server, I try to guess where they’ll serve, especially the first serve. I try to notice more things, but I keep those to myself.”
A good magician never reveals his secrets.
A player he would make disappear? Lestienne smiles mischievously. He hints that he might vanish someone, but chooses not to answer.
He would cast a spell on Monfils to keep him playing forever. “Without hesitation, Gael is the man. The guy is crazy. He’s also into magic — I’ve taught him a few things. He’s a good friend. I think we all enjoy watching him play, so I hope he never retires. Gael creates a unique atmosphere in every stadium he steps into. He runs everywhere, makes trickshots. People love him!”
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Lestienne, who is about to turn 33, has had a very unusual career. He reached his career-high ranking and broke into the top 50 only in 2023, he was suspended for betting on tennis matches, and he deals with a genetic illness.
In 2016, at 23 years old and ranked 164th in the world, the ITIA suspended him for seven months after placing bets on 220 tennis matches between 2012 and 2015.
“They used me. I was nobody in tennis, just a guy inside the top 200. They used me to send a message to the world, to set an example. It was a bad joke. Why did they suspend me? For betting 2 euros on matches. It was very, very painful. It took me years to recover from that,” he says.
None of those bets involved matches in which he was playing.
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Even worse, when he returned to the courts after serving his suspension, he had to deal with injuries.
“I wish I had a better body,” he admits.
Due to his genetic condition, injuries come more easily to him than to the average tennis player. He also has to spend significantly more time with the physio after matches. But beyond that, he prefers not to share more details — at least for now.
“I’ve struggled a lot in my career to be able to train and compete at the highest level, and that’s why I’m happy to be living off my passion. I’m still unsure about speaking publicly about my illness. I’ve never done it.”
He avoids playing on clay because his body isn’t suited to the physical demands of the surface. Roland Garros is the exception: “What interests me is collecting the money.”
Lestienne lost in the first round of qualifying at this year’s edition of the Paris Grand Slam. He pocketed €21,000.
The Disregard from the French Federation
Constant Lestienne says the French Tennis Federation (FFT) turned its back on him: “The Federation never believed in my tennis, that’s why they never helped me. They didn’t care about me — they never have.”
“When I was 15 or 16, they told me I would never be good at tennis. That I was too small, too skinny, that I hit too many drop shots, that my serve wasn’t good enough, and that this wasn’t the kind of tennis they wanted to promote.”
“It’s a pleasure to have proven them wrong,” he says.
Lestienne found inspiration in the generation of French players that is now nearly gone, and he believes the future of French tennis is bright, thanks to rising talents like Arthur Fils and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
“Monfils, Gasquet, Simon, and Tsonga… all of them have been very inspiring. We see them as role models because what they did is amazing— during a time when Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, and Murray were dominating. They still managed to reach Slam quarterfinals or semifinals, which was already really hard. Jo (Tsonga) made a final in Australia, beating Andy and Rafa… they all inspire us a lot,” says the current world No. 184.
“There are many talented young players now. We went through a pretty sad period of about three or four years in French tennis, but the future looks promising. I believe in this new generation — they’re still young, but they’re coming up, and I’m not worried about French tennis. I think a lot of them will break through.”
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Against the Aggression of Bettors
Lestienne laments the current state of the betting ecosystem.
Whether he wins or loses, the Frenchman’s social media gets flooded with messages from frustrated gamblers, often hiding behind anonymous accounts. “It’s out of control,” he says. It’s the reality for the vast majority of professional tennis players, and he wants to find a way to stop the harassment and online bullying.
“People don’t really know what’s happening. You get insulted—harshly—by strangers who create fake accounts, and so it’s difficult to track them. You don’t need an ID to create a social media profile, and I think that’s the main problem. If an ID were required, at least we could report the violent ones.”
He also complains that many of these insults are directed at his family. “It affects me a lot sometimes. I open Instagram after a match and I find death threats, hurtful words about my family… it’s definitely not okay.”
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