Amélie Mauresmo replaces Guy Forget at the direction of Roland-Garros – Liberation

The busy retired world number 1 will become the new director of the famous French tournament, following the departure of Forget due to disagreements with the president of the federation.

She will be the first woman to lead the legendary Porte d’Auteuil tournament: Amélie Mauresmo takes over from Guy Forget at the head of Roland-Garros, the president of the FFT announced on Thursday. The former world number 1 will remain in office “at least until 2024”.

“I am extremely proud and honored that Gilles Moretton and Amélie Oudéa-Castéra wanted to entrust me with the reins of this tournament which symbolizes so many memories in my personal and sporting life. I accepted this post of tournament director with clear ambitions. I will wear them with the rigor, freedom and passion that have always driven me.” reacted the ex-champion in a press release.

The appointment of Mauresmo is not a big surprise as the forty-year-old has marked the history of her sport for two decades. As a player first of all, she dominated the women’s circuit head and shoulders in the 2000s, to the point of squatting first place in the rankings in 2004 and 2006 (39 weeks in total) and winning two Grand Slam (Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2006), a Masters (in 2005) and a silver medal at the Athens Olympics (2004).

Since her retirement from sport, taken in 2009 at just 30 years old, she has never strayed far from the courts. We first find her quickly as a consultant on television, commenting on the matches of her former opponents for France television, Eurosport and more recently Amazon Prime.

Multi-caps

At the same time, she got involved with several players, advising Michaël Llodra, Victoria Azarenka or Marion Bartolli in the early 2010s. Then coaching Scottish star Andy Murray (from 2014 to 2016) and Lucas Pouille (2019 to 2020), in breaking through a few barriers in a male circuit that is still very macho. To these already time-consuming functions, she adds the captaincy of the French Fed Cup team, which she occupies from 2013 to 2016, without ever succeeding in leading the French women to the coronation despite a final in her last year.

In the midst of all this, Amélie Mauresmo also found the time to co-direct the Open GDF-Suez, from 2011 to 2014, a Parisian tournament which she had won three times as a player. To see her today take the helm of Roland-Garros is therefore only a logical continuation in this retirement, to say the least, filled.

The name of Amélie Mauresmo has been circulating in the highest circles of French tennis since Guy Forget announced on Tuesday that he refused to continue to lead Roland-Garros and the Rolex Paris Masters (the second biggest tournament in France). In an interview given to the teamhe explained that the current had always gone badly with the new boss of the federation, elected in February. “Communication never existed with him. And clearly I felt there was no trusthe explained to the sports daily. I don’t blame anyone but at the same time that I speak to you, I feel both sad to leave people I love very much and relieved.

Despite the rumors, Guy Forget had denied that his departure had any connection with the Pandora Papers. His name had however emerged in this XXL data leak, revealed by the International Consotium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), revealing a very large-scale tax evasion. The FFT’s ethics committee had taken up this affair on its own and had cleared Forget, on November 5, “in the absence of established tax evasion or other criminally reprehensible conduct”.