Amélie Mauresmo was appointed director of the French Tennis Open on Thursday, succeeding Guy Forget and becoming at the same time the first woman to occupy this position.
Forget, whose contract will expire at the end of the year, resigned earlier this week, citing communication problems with the new president of the French Tennis Federation, Gilles Moretton.
Mauresmo, 42, who wanted to learn to play tennis after watching Yannick Noah win the French Open in 1983, became the first French player to climb to number one in the world on September 13, 2004. In In total, she sat at the top of the rankings for 39 weeks.
Mauresmo was never able to reproduce Noah’s feat on Parisian clay, being unable to reach the quarter-finals of this major tournament – especially because of pressure from the French public.
Mauresmo, who had a legendary backhand, won the Fed Cup with France in 2003 and the WTA Tour Championship in 2005. She also captured silver at the Athens Olympics in 2004.
After her sports career, Mauresmo coached one of the best players in the world, Andy Murray. She was also named captain of the French team in the Fed Cup and was a television analyst for the 2021 French Open.
Mauresmo thus became the second manager of a Grand Slam tournament after Stacey Allaster, who holds the same position at the United States Tennis Open.
Mauresmo’s contract will expire after the 2024 season, the French Tennis Federation said.
Forget had directed Roland-Garros since 2016. The former professional player had even climbed to fourth in the world in the early 1990s.
The Roland-Garros stadium was renovated at great expense during Forget’s reign. In particular, a retractable roof was added above the Philippe Chatrier court, and an impressive new site was built, which is bordered by a series of greenhouses housing several exotic plants.
Under Forget’s leadership, the French Open also adopted evening programs – a first – in 2021.