Amelie Mauresmo, the two-time Grand Slam champion, was named the French Open director on Thursday to replace Guy Forget, becoming the first woman in the role.
Forget, whose contract expired at the end of the year, resigned this week citing communication problems with the new president of the French tennis federation, Gilles Moretton.
Mauresmo, 42, was the first French tennis player – male or female – to reach the top of the rankings in the modern era, on September 13, 2004. She was number one in the WTA for 39 weeks.
His inspiration for playing tennis was watching Yannick Noah win the Roland Garros title in 1983.
“This tournament has made me dream from a young age, it has created a vocation,” Mauresmo said at a press conference on Thursday.
But he never emulated Noah’s feat of establishing himself on the clay at Roland Garros. The quarterfinals were his insurmountable barrier at the Grand Slam event in Paris, where he suffered to deal with the pressure of playing in front of the home crowd.
Mauresmo, whose backhand delighted tennis fans around the world, clinched the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles in 2016. He also won the Fed Cup with France in 2003 and the Masters Cup in 2005. And won one Olympic silver medal in Athens 2004.
After completing her playing career, Mauresmo became the coach of Andy Murray, one of the best rackets in men’s tennis. He was also in charge of the French team in the Fed Cup and served as a television commentator during the last edition of Roland Garros.
Mauresmo is the second woman to be named a Grand Slam director. Follow in the footsteps of Stacey Allaster, Director of the US Open.
“Yes, I am very proud to be the first female director of Roland Garros, but I also think it is necessary to emphasize why I am here, apart from my gender,” said Mauresmo. “I would like this question to stop being relevant today. We need to focus and move towards something more egalitarian, regardless of gender. That gender does not matter, that they are your talents ”.
Mauresmo signed a contract until 2024, the French federation said.
Forget has served as director of Roland Garros since 2016. He was a tennis player who rose to number four in the world in the early 1990s.
The Roland Garros complex underwent a massive renovation during Forget’s stage, settling on a retractable roof on the Philippe Chatrier pitch, the tournament’s main court. A new track surrounded by greenhouses with exotic plants was also built.
In addition, under his management, the French Open staged evening sessions since this year.
