his former coach at the Coulaines club “always followed him closely”

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In the premises of the Club des 3 Vallées, in Coulaines, there remains still traces of the passage of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Photos, autographs, press articles… Le Manceau, fired from his 8 to 13 years oldreturned more than once to visit his former club. “I always followed him closely. We stayed in touch, he came back several times here, and he was kind enough to invite me to Roland-Garros when he was playing. He’s great”, says Franck Lefay, one of the Sarthe tennis player’s first coaches.

Franck Lefay, on the right, poses proudly alongside Tsonga. The photo is always displayed in the club. © Radio France
– Lea Dubost

When asked “how was the young Tsonga? Did you see something special in him?”, Franck Lefay seems to answer this question for the fiftieth time. “It was like today, _smiling, always in a good mood. He likes it, so it was simple to train him. Yes he was above_but no, at that age, it was impossible to predict the career he had”he replies.

Several notable moments

The former coach of the ex-world number 5 remains humble. He claims that his life hasn’t changed in 20 years, neither has the club, and only lets go: “yes, there is a certain satisfaction. _I hope I have brought him at least something_but hey, he’s the one who did everything”.

Franck Lefay will always keep one memory in mind, that of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s first appearance on television. “There were a lot of highlights in his career, the Australian Open final in 2008 of course. But for me, the most memorable was when I first saw him on TV, for his first Paris-Bercy, with his name inscribed, it made me feel weird“, he confides.

Franck Lefay still trains young tennis players in Coulaines, but
Franck Lefay still trains young tennis players in Coulaines, but “not for long”, he confides. © Radio France
– Lea Dubost

Franck Lefay will be once again in the standsto encourage “Jo” in his last Roland Garros, before his retirement. “We expected it. The problem is that Jo always wants to, but unfortunately the body doesn’t follow. At some point, you have to know how to hang up,” comments, with a touch of nostalgia, the one who continues to train in Coulaines.

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The youngsters of the club now have an example to follow. It is in any case the vision of Gabin, 17 years old. “It’s nice that he passed through here and that he became what he is. We hear a lot about him in the area, he’s an example”, explains the young man who will be “thoroughly” in front of his TV for the last game(s) of the local and now international star.


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