Amélie
Mauresmo

France, a nation that has long adored and revered its plethora of tennis stars, must have felt enormous pride when, in 2004, Amélie Mauresmo became the first Frenchwoman in history to climb to the top of the world rankings. Mauresmo first ascended to the World No. 1 slot for five weeks on September 13, 2004, thanks in large part to reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon and the quarterfinals at the Australian, French, and US Open. Her historical achievement was duly celebrated in her native France. In tennis annals, Mauresmo became only the second woman in history, following Kim Clijsters, to earn a No. 1 ranking without winning a major title.

That asterisk would be erased two years later when Mauresmo won both the 2006 Australian Open and Wimbledon Championships. On March 20, 2006 she regained the World No. 1 ranking from Clijsters, and throughout her 13 years playing professionally on tour, would earn the No. 1 ranking for 39 cumulative weeks and remain among the world’s Top-5 players for 191 weeks.

Mauresmo, who had a whipping top spin forehand that she drove deep into the court, and a grooved and one-handed backhand that she hit with power and terrific mobility on the baseline, compiled a 546-227 tour record and won 25 WTA titles in singles. She also compiled a 92-62 record in doubles, winning three championships and earning a career-high No. 29 world ranking on June 26, 2006.  While major singles titles eluded her until 2006, Mauresmo was always a factor, matching strokes with the game’s greatest female players – her game built on a tenacious baseline game that was artistic in its deployment. Her passing shots off both sides were often spectacular in their precision and with an eye toward playing an all-court game, she was a sneaky proficient net player.

Mauresmo began playing tennis at age 4, saying that watching fellow countryman Yannick Noah win the 1983 French Open inspired her to hold a racquet for the first time. As her game matured, her talents rounded into form nicely. In 1996, Mauresmo won both the junior French Open and Wimbledon Championships. 

When Mauresmo advanced to the 1999 Australian Open final, a 6-2, 6-3 loss to Martina Hingis, she became only the second French female player to reach the championship match, behind Mary Pierce. She arrived as an unseeded entrant and proceeded to earn upset victories over three seeded players, including No. 1 seed and World No. 1 Lindsay Davenport, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.

In 2006, as the No. 3 seed in Melbourne, Mauresmo was in top form after being pushed to three sets in the first round by China’s Sun Tiantian, winning her next three matches without dropping a set. Her victories were sprinkled with footnotes as three of her victories came after her opponent retired. Down 6-2 in the third round, Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands retired. In the fourth round, Mauresmo was working on all cylinders and crushed Czech star Nicole Vaidisova, 6-1, 6-1. She registered a nifty 6-3, 6-0 victory over Patty Schnyder of Switzerland in the quarterfinals, and then fought off No. 2 seed Cljisters in the semifinals, 5-7, 6-2, 3-2, before Cljisters retired.  In the championship match, Mauresmo jumped out to a 6-1, 2-0 lead over Belgium’s Justine Henin, before illness forced Henin to retire as well.

In early summer 2006, Mauresmo faced a full complement of players en route to winning the Wimbledon Ladies Singles Championship as the No. 1 seed. She sailed into the quarters after winning each of her first four matches in straight sets. Russia’s Anastasia Myskina provided a tough out in the quarters, forcing Mauresmo to dig deep to register a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 victory. She had a carbon copy match in the semifinals against another Russian, Maria Sharapova, and the result was similar: a hard-fought three-set victory that saw the Frenchwoman play her best tennis in the final set, earning a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 victory. In the final against Henin, Mauresmo rallied from dropping the first set 6-2 and earned her second major with flawless tennis over the next two sets to earn a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

In her career, Mauresmo won the Australian (2006), was a quarterfinalist at the French (2003, 2004), won Wimbledon (2006), and was a semifinalist as the US Open (2002, 2006).

While she played doubles sparingly, Mauresmo and Russian partner Svetlana Kuznetsova advanced to the 2005 Wimbledon Ladies Doubles Championship final, falling to Cara Black and Liezel Huber, 6-2, 6-1.

Mauresmo also shined on the international stage, earning a Silver Medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Atlanta, falling to rival Henin, 6-3, 6-3. She was a dedicated member of the French Fed Cup team, holding the record for most singles wins with an impressive 30-9 record. In 2013, she became captain of the French Fed Cup team.

Mauresmo retired on December 3, 2009, but hasn’t strayed far from the game. Post retirement Mauresmo stayed active in the sport as a coach for players on both the ATP and WTA tours, including Andy Murray, Michael Llorda, Victoria Azarenka, and Marion Bartoli. She also worked as a commentator for EuroSport television.

In 2021, Mauresmo was named tournament director of the Roland-Garros Championships, becoming the first woman to hold that role.