Amélie Mauresmo

Amélie Simone Mauresmo French pronunciation: ​[ameli simɔn moʁɛsmo] (born 5 July 1979) is a French former professional tennis player, and a former World No. 1. Mauresmo won two Grand Slam singles titles at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon, and also won a Silver Medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Mauresmo first attained the top ranking on 13 September 2004, holding it for five weeks on that occasion. She was the fifteenth World No. 1 in women's tennis since the computer rankings began. She is well known for her powerful one-handed backhand and strong net play. She officially announced her retirement from professional tennis on 3 December 2009, ending a career of fifteen years. She returned to Wimbledon in 2010, acting as a grass court advisor for Frenchman and 2007 Wimbledon doubles champion Michaël Llodra. She helped Marion Bartoli in 2013 and during Bartoli's triumph at Wimbledon. Mauresmo has coached Andy Murray since June 2014.

Biography

Early life

Mauresmo was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye slightly northwest of Paris. She began playing tennis at the age of four, after being inspired by Yannick Noah's win in the 1983 French Open on television. It was after his win that Mauresmo's parents bought her her first tennis racket. Later on in 1998 Yannick Noah picked her on the French team for the Fed Cup. Her mother Françoise is a housewife and her father Francis, who died in March 2004, was an engineer. She has a brother, Fabien, who is an engineer.