Better supervising the hopes of French tennis in their progress is one of the main objectives of the French Tennis Federation. The president of the body, Gilles Moretton, announced Monday the creation of two distinct centers within the National Technical Directorate (DTN). The objective is clear for him: French tennis must “return to victory”.
The first part of this new organization concerns the 5-15 year olds who will join the “Pathway to high level” placed under the responsibility of DTN Nicolas Escudé. Then, players aged 16-21 with the ability will be placed in the “High level” group, co-directed by Paul-Henri Mathieu, already in charge of high level at the FFT, and Ivan Ljubicic, Roger’s former coach. Federer.
“The priority is to do the right job from the start so that, behind us, we can inherit players ready for the high level”
Gilles Moretton, president of the FFT
“The priority is to do the right job from the start so that, behind us, we can inherit players ready for the high level,” explained Gilles Moretton. “From a very young age, we must instill responsibility in young people and parents, because everyone must be master of their own project. The ambition to become number 1 is a personal ambition, it cannot be the ambition of the Federation. But that must be worked on from a very young age,” he explained.
The president of the FFT continues by insisting on the fact that it will be “educational work, on a daily basis”, and that it would be up to Ljubicic to ensure “the transition from junior to senior” by guiding the young hopefuls “in the creation of their structure”. Finally, Mathieu will accompany, as he already does, the French teams and the over-20s.
Arthur Fils, the example
44th in the ATP rankings and 3rd French, Arthur Fils (19 years old) embodies the promising youth of French tennis. For Moretton, Son “understood this device. He has a team around him, he has been off to a very, very good start, he has a coach, Laurent Raymond, who is doing a remarkable job, and since the start of the year, Ivan Ljubicic has been very close to him to play his advisory role.
Arthur Fils with the French Davis Cup team, this weekend in Manchester. (P. Lahalle/The Team)
Besides Son, the president believes he has “several potential world Top 20s” among boys, citing in particular Luca Van Assche (69th, 19 years old), Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (221st, 20 years old) or Gabriel Debru (324th, 17 years old).
As a reminder, no French player reached the round of 16 of the men’s Grand Slam table this season, a collective poor performance which had only happened in 2021 and 1978 in recent history. Among women, Caroline Garcia lost in the round of 16 at the Australian Open, in the third round at Wimbledon, in the second at Roland Garros and in the first at the US Open.
