Amelie Mauresmo
Amlie is four years old when she watches the 1983 French Open final between Yannick Noah and Mats Wilander with her parents. In fact, she gets so wrapped up in the game that her parents buy her a racquet. At six year old, they enrol Amlie in the Bornel tennis club. Amlie remembers: “I remember my first tennis instructor. Her name was Inger Delamare. She was the first one to notice my potential. Then there was Philippe Leroy, whom I met at Bornel and met again at TC Mru. He was the epitome of what a great teacher should be. And he was just a wonderful person.” With Patrick Simon as her coach, Amlie’s progresses by leaps and bounds. So much so that three years later, the Faise du Tennis, the French Tennis Federation (FFT), sees her talent and invites her to join the Tennis/School program in Blois. Amlie is 11 years old. She is thrilled and her parents can only resign themselves to watching her go. “Even then, tennis was my passion. But after three years, I knew for sure that I wanted to be a professional tennis player.”
At 14 years old, Amlie enrols at INSEP Vincennes, a national institute for sports and physical education. There, she meets Gail Lovera, ex-French No.1 from Australia who passes on to Amlie both her enthusiasm for tennis and her topspin backhand, which Amlie says was revolutionary to her game. In 1994, Amlie is 15 and trains at the national training centre at Roland Garros, the Centre d’Entrainement National. She is happy. She meets up again with Patrick Simon, one of her first coaches and discovers the international tournament circuit.
Credit : Wikipedia
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