Return of fans fuels excitement for French star Chartereau

STRASBOURG (France) - When news broke recently that fans in Strasbourg had been given the go-ahead to attend the FIBA Women's EuroBasket, the smile on the face of Alexia Chartereau could barely have been wider.

A huge favorite amongst the French fan-base and someone who is likely to be highly influential in pushing the frontrunners towards a potential title, the forward is thrilled to be able to play in front of the public at the event.

She declared: "I think we didn't fully realize how good it was to have fans in the stands before this year and it has been hard to play without supporters.

"Now it's important to win not only for ourselves, but also for the fans, because we know that they missed it as much as we did. It's important to us that we can thank them this way.

"Although even if they were not physically here in the arena, we know we would still have a lot of support and winning would still be our way to say thank you."

The growth and evolution of Chartereau has been highly impressive since she made her debut at the Women's EuroBasket as a teenager four years ago. 

“WHEN I ARRIVED IN THE NATIONAL TEAM, I COULD SEE WHAT THE HIGHEST EUROPEAN LEVEL WAS... EVERYTHING IS JUST SO FAST, SO QUICK AND SO SMART." 

It was a pivotal edition not only for the player herself, but also for French basketball. It signaled a change of the generations, which was continued in 2019  as fellow young guns Marine Fauthoux and Iliana Rupert also joined the party.

"It's a good memory and I have the feeling that it was a long time ago, but actually it's not," said Chartereau as she reflected on taking her first steps in the competition.

"I still have the Semi-Final win against Greece in my mind as it was a good game. We had a great competition, but we lost in the Final and I think Spain was better in that one.

"It was also the last competition for Caps (Celine Dumerc) and Gaga (Gaelle Skrela) and my first one, so it was kind of a symbol to start with them."

It was certainly a key time in the burgeoning career of Chartereau, who had been outstanding at youth level and was making the transition to the senior set-up.

"I had already learned a lot at club level (with Bourges Basket) and especially in 2017 because it was my first professional year," she continued.

"When I arrived in the French national team, I could see what the highest European level was. I learned fast from this in terms of tactics, technique and physicality. Everything is just so fast, so quick and so smart, I had to learn every aspect of the game."

Chartereau has managed to emerge from some fiercely intense competition amongst a wide poll of exciting young French players. So, she was quick to point out some of the elements that she feels aspiring ballers of the future could benefit from in order to tread the same path during the coming years.

"Always believe in yourself, continue to work hard and don't take anything for granted," she declared.

"This is really important and it allowed me to be where I am today and for me to continue to work and evolve - we have to learn from each other. These kind of things sound easy, but they really do allow you to become a great player in the end."

Chatereau can now classify herself as a leading figure not only in her homeland, but also in a wider continental context after another superb season playing in EuroLeague Women with Bourges.

However, she recently announced she was leaving and that means she will be making the biggest move of her career to date - something which could mean even more scrutiny of her performances at this tournament.

Nevertheless, even if she is under the microscope, few would back against her delivering. The main task for the 22-year-old and her colleagues is still figuring out how to convert silver into gold. 

Asked if France are the clear favorites for the top step of the podium having announced an impressive final roster this past week, Chartereau is coy about such a label. She is preferring to focus on the strengths of France having a nice balance of youth and experience.

"We know each other very well and know what everyone is like on the court, so this will be important during the key moments," she stated.

"For the moment though. we're just focused on building as a collective and a group so we can perform our best during these key moments of the competition. This has already started with the preparation games.

"We're still at the highest level while including a lot of younger generations. The experienced players are still very good and very useful for the team, but we are also looking ahead. This mix of the generations has performed well and it's a good sign for the present and the future," concluded Chartereau. 

FIBA