Yannick Noah: The Wizard of Winning on and off the Tennis Court

“A man of challenge”, now aged 63, who managed to meet them one by one during his brilliant career in tennis. First of all, when he was a player, with his unforgettable coronation at Roland-Garros in 1983, which remains the last victory of a French player in a Grand Slam.

Then when he took on the role of captain of the French men’s and women’s teams, transmitting a rage to win which has worked miracles several times, to the point of inheriting an image of a wizard of winning. You only had to see the rebirth of Henri Leconte and the trance of Guy Forget in 1991 against the Americans Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, to have proof of this unique know-how which led to the coronation in the Davis Cup, trophy which had not been raised by the Blues for 59 years.

Noah did it again in 1996, with another generation, that of Cédric Pioline, Guillaume Raoux, Arnaud Boetsch, but again with Guy Forget, to win the event once again in Sweden. The following year, Noah took the reins of the French women’s team which he led to triumph in the Fed Cup (now Billie Jean King Cup), the first won by France, with in its ranks Mary Pierce, Sandrine Testud and Nathalie Tauziat among others.

“A real pride”

In a press release, the FFT specifies that Yannick Noah “will put all his skills as well as his experience as a player and captain at the service of the French wheelchair tennis team. He will have the opportunity to transmit his energy and his sense of victory to the players.” Yannick Noah will be accompanied by Jean-Philippe Fleurian, head of high level paratennis, and Patrick Labazuy, paratennis project manager.

Yannick Noah said he “was overwhelmed” when he received the proposal from Stéphane Houdet, French legend of the discipline. “It’s a fantastic adventure. I’m super excited. We are currently in a phase where we are getting to know each other. I also discover the specificities of wheelchair tennis, the areas to work on, our strong points and our weak points. It’s exciting,” said the former Roland Garros winner.

2023-12-14 08:00:00
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